San Francisco Bay Area city approves use of police drone

Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Burbank, said he is urging the Federal Aviation Administration to “put the issue of drones interfering with firefighting operations front and center”.

FAA reports that, as of August 9, there have been more than 650 incidents of pilots sighting unmanned systems while in-flight this year, compared to 238 sightings during all of 2014.

Operators who get caught flying drones near aircraft could be subject to stiff fines and criminal charges, which could bring jail time. During June and July, pilots eclipsed last year’s sightings by reporting 275 drones at altitudes up to 10,000 feet.

So, if the FAA is as concerned as it claims to be about the possibility of drones and aircraft colliding the least it could do is make training more accessible to new drone owners.

The Air Line Pilots Association supports additional regulations on small drones that require registering the devices and installing automatic software blocking flights into prohibited areas, Canoll said. Lawmakers and privacy activists immediately criticized the police secrecy, which came after a number of other police drone prosposals crashed, and the SJPD never deployed the UAV.

Capt. Chesley Sullenberger, a retired US Airways pilot who made an emergency landing on the Hudson River in New York after geese knocked out the engines of his Airbus A320 in January 2009, said drones with hard batteries and electronics anxious him even more than lighter, softer birds.

The FAA will continue to work closely with industry partners through the “Know Before You Fly” campaign to educate unmanned aircraft users about where they can operate within the rules.

Current FAA rules mandate people fly a drone below 400 feet, keep the drone in line of sight and stay away from airports.

There has been much discussion about how drones might be used to help in the fight against wildfire, but no one saw the potential for extreme danger that recreational drones might pose to firefighters.

In June, a drone successfully delivered medical supplies to a clinic in Virginia, but concerns about safety remain.

“Absolutely (I welcome regulation), it should be regulated”, drone store owner Justin Henderson said. The agency has levied civil penalties for several unauthorized flights around the country, and has dozens of open enforcement cases.

The FAA had placed a ban on flying drones near an aircraft.