AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2014 - 96

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96 | AOPA PILOT June 2014

AOPA IS AMONG 33 organizations calling on the FAA
to step up its plans for integration of small unmanned
aircraft systems (UAS) into the national airspace
system-action that in the first decade could create
100,000 jobs and $82 billion in economic activity.
Publication of the notice of proposed rulemaking
(NPRM) for UAS remains a missing and critical piece
of the puzzle. In March, the FAA asked the NTSB
to review an administrative judge's ruling that threw
out a $10,000 fine the FAA levied against photographer Raphael Pirker for flying a drone commercially
near the University of Virginia to gather video. The
NTSB judge ruled that the FAA had no regulations
covering the UAS flight, contrary to the agency's position. The judge's decision cast doubt on the FAA's
power to regulate UAS and underscores the need
for a safety framework for the flights, said the group
of organizations in a letter to FAA Administrator
Michael Huerta.
The organizations said "the current regulatory
void" has left UAS operators "operating in the absence
of appropriate safety guidelines." They urged the FAA
"to allow the UAS industry to establish appropriate
standards for safe operation." The letter also urged
the FAA to expedite rulemaking for UAS-an area
where "the technology is advancing faster than the
regulations to govern it."
AOPA WELCOMED the FAA's announcement that it
will launch a rulemaking process that could result in
expanding the number of pilots allowed to fly without
obtaining a third class medical certificate. The "Private
Pilot Privileges without a Medical Certificate" project will consider whether to allow private pilots to fly
without a third class medical certificate in certain circumstances. Pilots would be able to use other criteria,
including a valid driver's license, to demonstrate their
fitness to fly.
The announcement comes two years after AOPA
and EAA jointly petitioned the FAA to expand the
third class medical exemption to cover more pilots
and aircraft. The FAA said it is still considering the
AOPA-EAA petition, which received 16,000 positive
comments. The FAA also said it will consider whether
it can safely provide any relief to the medical requirement before the rulemaking process is complete.
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AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2014

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