Happy anniversary, 14 CFR part 107!

June 21, 2017 is the one year anniversary of the release of 14 CFR part 107, which regulates small unmanned aircraft in the public airspace. The rule relaxed many FAA restrictions on flying unmanned aircraft (drones) in the public airspace. We have no major incidents or accidents reported so far even though FAA expected to issue 600,000 remote aircraft pilot certificates before the end of 2016.  However, unmanned and manned aircraft have not shared the public airspace without incidents.

Between June 21 and December 31 2016 the Federal Aviation Administration pilots and others reported 638 UAS "events" involving sightings, which sometimes caused pilots to change course to avoid collisions (see the FAA reports about drone sightings).  The FAA's reports of sightings include many types of flying craft, including balloons, like the kind that escape from used car parking lots.  But most pilots saw multi-rotors and were close enough to identify details, like the color of the drone body and safety lighting.  In many cases, pilots saw drones just after take off and while on approach for landing.

Pilots report sighted drones' altitudes with mean sea level (MSL) as a reference, rather than the height above ground level (AGL).  However, the reports suggest that sightings were higher than the 400 foot AGL operating ceiling specified in part 107 ("Maximum altitude of 400 feet above ground level (AGL) or, if higher than 400 feet AGL, remain within 400 feet of a structure.").  Also, the drones may have been too close to airports, within the approaches for landing and the take-off corridors. Whether too high or two close to airports pilots of light planes and commercial airlines have been finding drones where they did not expect to see them.

The question is when will a piloted aircraft and a drone be in the same place at the same time?  The Know Before You Fly program should help drone pilots understand how to avoid conflicts with piloted aircraft.  The Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) promotes Know Before You Fly heavily within its membership of 193,000 people, who likely follow AMA safety rules at AMA affiliated model aircraft airfields and events.  AMA also promotes safe remote control flying and publishes the National Model Aircraft Safety Code monthly in Model Aviation.  However, with a year of relaxed regulations, and many thousands of new drone owners who may not have learned about airspace and flying restrictions and who are not part of an AMA affiliated club, the chances of a headline about a collision between a drone and a piloted aircraft increase, especially if drone pilots fly within the takeoff and landing airspace for airports.