FAA Moves Toward Certifying Specific Drones for Package Deliveries
February 03 2020 - 4:51PM
Dow Jones News
By Andy Pasztor
U.S. aviation regulators plan to craft new safety standards for
specific unmanned-aircraft models, the biggest step yet toward
eventually authorizing widespread delivery of packages by
drones.
The Federal Aviation Administration's proposal, disclosed Monday
in a Federal Register filing, is couched in dry bureaucratic
language but amounts to a major policy and regulatory win for
Amazon.com Inc. and other companies seeking to win approval for
various types of drones for small-package delivery fleets.
The FAA for the first time formally laid out a policy intended
to vet the design and reliability of drones, similar to how it
determines the safety of gliders and other light aircraft.
By announcing the initiative and seeking public comment, the
agency started down the path to certify drones as a "special class"
of aircraft -- essentially seeking to give them some of the
regulatory certainty that airliners, business jets, helicopters and
small private planes enjoy.
Routine drone deliveries to U.S. consumers are still years away,
and the FAA didn't spell out a timeline. Monday's announcement
emphasized that the FAA has extensive work to do on a range of
operational issues. The agency, for instance, needs to complete
rules for remote identification of more than 400,000 drones
registered for commercial operations.
Amazon and other champions of commercial drones have long argued
that certifying particular drone models is essential to promote
rapid growth of package-delivery options. An Amazon spokesman
declined to comment.
The FAA said in Monday's policy statement that its ultimate goal
is to promote full integration of an array of drones and autonomous
airborne taxis into U.S. airspace, but for now the vehicles
"affected by this policy will include those used for package
delivery."
Until now, the FAA's drone office largely has relied on -- and
sometimes offered waivers from -- existing regulations written for
traditional aircraft flown by pilots on board. But typically, such
solutions strictly limit the type of drones companies can use,
spell out precisely where they can fly and detail other operating
restrictions.
In one fell swoop, the FAA now has decided to craft an entirely
new regulatory scheme that would certify the safety of specific
types of drones and give operators significantly greater latitude
to determine how they are flown. Once a specific model is
certified, theoretically it would be able to operate throughout the
U.S., as long as the FAA approved related procedures for
maintenance, pilot training and other requirements.
United Parcel Service Inc. received FAA approval last March to
set up a fleet of drones for delivery of medical supplies and other
small packages within certain closely circumscribed areas, such as
hospital campuses. But that decision didn't explicitly certify the
safety of any specific drones. UPS also was required to seek agency
approval for each of the locations it intends to serve.
The UPS approval followed a decision by the FAA granting
Alphabet Inc.'s Wing Aviation unit initial authorization for a more
limited program delivering consumer goods in a rural area around
Blacksburg, Va.
By contrast, Amazon and other companies have sought to open up
widespread package deliveries by pushing for federal certification
of specific models or families of drones, which then could be used
broadly without additional FAA approvals.
Once particular models are approved, the FAA suggested it may
embrace sweeping, industry-generated standards as a regulatory
strategy.
Looking ahead, the FAA said it would develop further policies or
regulations covering unmanned aerial vehicles designed to transport
people
Monday's move opens the door for case-by-case certification of
drone models submitted by operators or manufacturers, even as the
agency considers generally applicable standards across the
industry. The aim, according to the FAA, is to provide clarity to
the public regarding existing requirements.
Separately, Amazon last year asked for an exemption to make
commercial deliveries under part of the FAA's current regulations
used to oversee charter airlines. UPS and Wing Aviation already
have such exemptions.
Write to Andy Pasztor at andy.pasztor@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 03, 2020 16:36 ET (21:36 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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