The Federal Aviation Administration has completed its proposed “beyond-visual-line-of-sight” rule for drone operators, stepping closer to finalising standards that could enable vastly more drone flights.
The newly proposed Part 108 rule, released August by the FAA in a 589-page filing, lays out standards by which the agency intends to allow ground-based operators to fly unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) beyond where they can see them.
The FAA currently largely prohibits beyond-line-of sight flights but has issued exemptions to several companies.
The new Part 108 rule applies to drones weighing no more than 599kg (1,329lb) and operating, in most cases, no higher than 400ft.
The FAA’s filing also proposes a new Part 146 rule defining how the regulator oversees providers of drone-specific air traffic management services.
“This proposed rule is intended to provide a predictable and clear pathway for safe, routine, and scalable UAS operations that include package delivery, agriculture, aerial surveying, civic interest, operations training, demonstration, recreation and flight testing,” the proposed rules says.
The agency intends to authorise the drone operations via either permits or certificates.
Permits would be intended for “smaller-scale” operators and would allow, for instance, flights involving package delivery, agricultural work, surveying and training.
Certificates would be needed by operators performing higher-risk flights – defined by factors including aircraft size, mission complexity, where the aircraft will be flown and local population density.
The FAA is not proposing that drones covered by the rule be issued airworthiness certifications. Rather, they would need to comply with “airworthiness acceptance” requirements; manufacturers would need to submit – and the FAA would need to approve – a “declaration of compliance” attesting that an aircraft meets certain standards.
The FAA’s proposes that drone operators designate supervisors charged with broadly ensuring safe operations. They would need to name “qualified flight coordinators” to oversee specific aircraft.
Operators flying in controlled airspace would need to use “deconfliction and conformance monitoring services” to prevent collisions.
The regulator is required to create the new rules under the FAA’s 2024 funding bill.
Story corrected on 4 September to note that the proposed rule was released in August, not on 3 September.
