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FAA has Authority to Regulate Drones: U.S. Aviation Safety Board

On November 18, the U.S. Aviation Safety Board ruled that the Federal Aviation Administration has the authority to regulate drone flights.

According to the ruling, the FAA has the power to hold the operators of unmanned aircrafts accountable, when they are using them recklessly. The decision came after the FAA appealed a ruling of an NTSB judge that overturned a $10,000 FAA fine against Raphael Pirker.

In 2011, Pirker remotely operated his 56-inch foam glider to make an aerial video for the University of Virginia. According to the FAA, he operated the aircraft in a reckless manner and at one point, a person had to duck out to avoid it.

Pirker appealed the fine, saying that his glider was only a model aircraft and therefore, should not be held under the FAA regulations about manned aircrafts. In March, an NTSB judge ruled that FAA has no authority to regulate the unmanned aircrafts.

Following the new decision, the Raphael Pirker case will be again sent to an administrative law judge who will determine if the aircraft was operated recklessly.

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    Tree Strike Kills 1


    Pictured: A Piper PA-28-180 Cherokee in Arkansas
    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Jason W. Hamm

    What: Oak Ridge Flyers Inc. Piper PA-28-180 Cherokee B
    Where: Oliver Springs Airport in Anderson County, TN
    When: 18-OCT-2009
    Who: 4 on board, 1 fatality
    Why: After a hard landing, the plane struck a tree.

    The pilot was Doyle R. Chadwick.

    The passengers, all of whom survived, were Phillip Byrge, 49, and his 12-year-old son Nathan and 8-year-old daughter Mary.

    President of the Oliver Springs Airport board of directors,Steve Hamel, was quoted as saying that he believes “Wind and a wet runway likely played a role in the crash….It’s a grass runway, and it looks like the skid marks of extended distance here, that the brakes may have been locked up on the airplane”

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    Bird-Hit Horizon Air Flight Safely Lands in Boise

    Horizon AirHorizon Air flight QX-417 made a safe landing after a bird strike in Boise, Idaho, on September 29th.

    The plane flying from Portland, Oregon, was on final approach when a bird hit it.

    The plane continued for a safe landing. All passengers and crew members remained safe.

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    Family of Four Killed After Small Plane Crashed in Western Colorado

    A small plane crashed in Garfield County, Colorado, on September 15th.

    The plane was heading from Fort Collins, Colorado, to Moab, Utah, when it went down.

    The plane was carrying a family of four at the time. All of them were killed in the crash. The deceased include two adults and two children.

    The incident is being investigated.

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    Allegiant Jet Makes Emergency Landing in South Carolina

    AllegiantAllegiant airlines flight 683, en-route from Grand Rapids, Michigan, to Orlando, Florida, was forced to make an emergency landing at Greenville–Spartanburg International Airport, South Carolina on August 31.

    According to the airline officials, the McDonnell Douglas MD-80 aircraft, having 159 passengers on board, was diverted for emergency landing after it began to “experienced a cabin pressurization issue approximately two hours after take off.”

    The aircraft landed safely, although the passengers had to wear oxygen masks deployed overhead in the cabin.

    The airline provided hotel accommodation, refund for that leg of the trip, and a $200 voucher to all the passengers.

    The flight was rescheduled to depart from Greenville next morning.

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    Denver Based Startup Plans Supersonic NYC-London Flights in 3.4 Hours

    Boom Technology, a Denver, Colorado, based startup, wants to build a supersonic airplane that will be able to fly at 1,451 miles per hour, i.e. 2.6 times faster than any of the current airliners.

    The company says its 40-seater aircrafts, at their cruising altitude of 60,000 feet, will reduce the time to fly from New York to London by half. So for a roundtrip price of $5,000, the travelers will be able to cover this distance in only 3.4 hours. Boom founder Blake Scholl said, “Imagine departing from New York at 6 a.m., and landing at Heathrow by 2:30 p.m. London time… You’ll be able to make afternoon meetings, you can stay until 9:30 p.m., have a full productive day, and and back in New York at 8 p.m. [local time] so you can tuck your kids into bed.”

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    FAA Asks for Public Input on UAS Test Site

    WASHINGTON– The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) today asked for public input on the agency’s selection process for six unmanned aircraft system (UAS) test sites. Once the pilot program is established, the agency expects it will provide valuable data to help the FAA safely and efficiently integrate UAS into the same airspace with manned airplanes.

    “Unmanned aircraft can help us meet a number of challenges, from spotting wildfires to assessing natural disasters,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “But these test sites will help us ensure that our high safety standards are maintained as the use of these aircraft becomes more widespread.”

    Through the National Defense Authorization Act and the 2012 FAA Reauthorization bill, Congress mandated that the FAA establish UAS test sites. In order to ensure that all factors are taken into consideration when choosing the six sites, the FAA has asked for comments from the UAS user community and the public at large. Specifically, the request for comment asks for input on several important questions, such as public versus private management of the sites, research activities and capabilities of the test areas, the requirements for test site operators, and the geographic and climate factors that should influence site selection.

    The feedback obtained through this transparent process will help the FAA develop UAS test site requirements, designation standards and oversight activity. This will help the FAA design the process and criteria prior to issuing a request for proposals to select UAS test areas that will allow integration of these innovative aircraft into the National Airspace System by 2015. The FAA will accept comments for the next 60 days.

    “The FAA has a proven track record of safely introducing new technology and aircraft into the NAS, and I am confident we will successfully meet the challenges posed by UAS technology,” said FAA Acting Administrator Michael Huerta.
    The UAS pilot program mandates the FAA select six test sites to do the following:
    Safely designate airspace for integrated manned and unmanned flight operations in the national airspace system

    • Develop certification standards and air traffic requirements for unmanned flight operations at test ranges
    • Coordinate with and leverage the resources of the NASA and the Department of Defense
    • Address both civil and public unmanned aircraft systems
    • Ensure that the program is coordinated with the Next Generation Air Transportation System
    • Ensure the safety of unmanned aircraft systems and related navigation procedures before they are integrated into the national airspace system.

    As part of the process, the FAA will consult with the Defense Department and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which already operate their own test ranges. The Defense and FAA reauthorizations do not provide any funding for these test sites.

    Since 2005, the FAA has completed more than 50 research studies on UAS. The agency has access to hands-on experience with the various types of UAS and has partnerships with other government agencies, industry, and academia.

    The FAA is working toward publication of a proposed rule on small UAS this year. The agency also has convened an Aviation Rulemaking Committee that includes a number of aviation and industry experts studying a wide range of UAS integration issues.

    The request for comments, including instructions for filing comments, will be published in the Federal Register on Friday, March 9.

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