New Year, New Drone Rules

New Year, New Drone Rules 

It’s a bird. It’s a plane. No, it’s a drone! Expect to see more drones in the sky, especially flying over construction sites. Drones are the fastest-growing segment of the entire transportation sector, according to the FAA. Of the industries in the U.S., construction is the fastest-growing adopter of drones, according to DroneDeploy.

The FAA recently announced two rules for U.S. drone pilots that require Remote Identification (Remote ID) allowing drone operators to fly at night and over people if certain conditions are met. There are over 1.7 million registered drones and 203,000 FAA-certified remote pilots in the U.S., according to the FAA. Drone use on construction job sites is said to have increased 239% from 2017 to 2018.

Remote ID identifies drones in flight and the location of their control stations, which reduces the risk of drones interfering with other aircraft and people/property on the ground. This is a ‘major step’ towards fully integrating drones into the national airspace system. This system is meant to address safety, security, and privacy concerns.

Remote ID overrides the FAA regulations that previously required a drone operator to get a Part 107 waiver to fly over people and at night. Drone operators must meet several conditions to fly at night or over people – these conditions relate to drone size, not injuring persons or property, and pilot training. – BK