Amazon Drones Get FAA Approval

If you want to fly your drone in the US, there are particular regulations in place, which currently restrict certain uses. These old laws haven’t been changed for a long time, but it looks like that is about to change. The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has recently approved Amazon’s proposal to start testing their drones for online delivery services.

The FAA has granted Amazon a certificate for the retail company to test the unmanned aircraft, with the proviso that the person operating the drone must have a valid pilot’s license and the drones must be flown at or below 400 feet. The flight must also take place during daylight hours and the drone must remain within sight of the pilot. The new ruling also stated, the company must also provide them with data on the number of flights conducted and also any other relevant information. This is to be provided to the FAA on a monthly basis.

Currently, under US law, operating drones for any commercial purposes is illegal. Those rules, however,  are under review by the FAA. It is widely expected that the FAA will issue new rules regarding the operation of drones or unmanned aircraft for recreational and commercial uses.

This ruling has been a long time coming for the retail giant; Amazon had asked the US aviation regulator for approval to start the testing done flight back in July. In December, Amazon got fed up with waiting and the retailer warned it may start testing their Amazon Prime Air program, in other countries. Paul Misener, Amazon’s vice president of global public policy, in a letter to the FAA, wrote, “Without approval of our testing in the United States, we will be forced to continue expanding our Prime Air R&D footprint abroad.”

[Image via www.thatdroneshow.com]

SOURCE: BBC News