So now that Thanksgiving is over, it’s basically Christmas time. Right? If you are having trouble thinking of a unique gift to give a special someone in your look no further then the sky! The FAA is predicting that over 1 million drones will be sold during this years holiday season, whether it’s a high end quadcopter or a less expensive one you can buy at Target. That’s beside the point though, the FAA is worried about what is going to happen when 1 million new aircrafts enter the airspace!
The FAA’s Rich Swayze put it this way while speaking at the Airlines for America (A4A) Commercial Aviation Industry Summit: “A lot of people who don’t have a pilot background are operating these things in the airspace.”
Hawaiian Airlines CEO Mark Dunkerley was more blunt. “From an operating perspective, [small UAVs are] a very serious issue and there’s considerable concern that it’s going to end in tears,” he said. “It’s not just in and around airports where drones present a danger to the traveling public. Yes flying these drones in the airspace near an airport is 100% illegal, there are many areas outside of 5 miles of an airport where a drone conflict could occur. And if those million drones cause serious headaches? Some legislators would like to see hard limits placed on UAVs capabilities. According to Congressman Peter DeFazio of Oregon, (the head of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in Congress),”a lot of what pilots are seeing is irresponsible use of toys. The toys, in my opinion, should be set up so they can’t be sold unless they’re geo-fenced for altitude and perimeters.”
Since the proposals were announced, there have been countless incidents of people doing dumb things with drones, like flying too close to airplanes, crashing them into the US Open, and disrupting firefighter trying to put out forest fires. And that trend of doing dumb things with drones is probably going to get worse before it gets better. Some of the drones that end up as Christmas presents will likely be given to children, or others who might not be so aware of how they should be using their new toys. It’s worrying to think of the potential havoc hundreds of thousands of kids could wind up doing on Christmas morning with the new toy their parents gave them. So if you come down stairs Christmas morning to find a drone under your tree remember that most importantly there are regulations for your own safety as well as the safety of others.