A more urgent need for new drone rules

In June, a Southwest Airlines pilot looked down as he approached Love Field in Dallas to see a drone just “a few hundred feet” away.

This month, an American Airlines pilot descending toward Phoenix Sky Harbor airport got a surprise at 7,000 feet. A hobbyist’s black-and-yellow drone buzzed nearby, just 100 feet below the plane’s nose.

The good news: All the planes involved landed safely.

The troubling news: Despite these incidents and hundreds of others, the Federal Aviation Administration continues to move slowly in adopting new drone regulations.

The popularity of the pilotless aircraft is exploding. That surge, however, has not been met with federal rules assuring that they’re used safely.

After dragging its feet, the FAA finally proposed new regulations in February. The 60-day comment period on those proposals has long passed. Next are public meetings this month and next month to discuss “innovation and opportunities.” Final regulations seem far from imminent.

Certainly, crafting a new set of rules is a delicate, difficult balancing act. Regulations need to accommodate safety and privacy concerns, but rigid restrictions might stifle the potential for drones to be a valuable tool for commerce.

One proposal that’s already drawn objection: Operators would be required to always be able to see the aircraft without the aid of binoculars or cameras. For companies that are pursuing drone projects, that would be a big blow.

For now, however, that makes sense. Drones can’t sense and avoid collisions on their own.

As drones become sophisticated and their operators more capable, we can envision rules expanding commercial use of the aircraft, so long as operators are licensed like other pilots.

First, though, the FAA has to establish a base of reasonable safety and privacy regulations — and soon — before a close call becomes a catastrophe.

— The Charlotte Observer