Tells AIA 'Safety Must Come First'
FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt said in a speech to the
Aerospace Industries Association that while UAS technology has
shown some real promise, it is not "Plug and Play", and that
"unmanned aircraft systems are not ready for seamless or routine
use yet in civilian airspace."
Babbitt said the fundamental issue is one of "see and
avoid."
"The definition of see and avoid for UAS is “the
capability of an unmanned aircraft system to remain well clear from
and avoid collisions with other airborne traffic and
vice-versa,” he said. " With the UAS, you’re talking
about a blend of technology that in terms of complexity is head and
shoulders above anything we’re doing now. That complexity is
what makes it difficult to meld the UAS safely into a mature system
like the NAS."
Babbitt used the example of the mid-air collision over the
Hudson river this summer. "Now can you even imagine if one of those
aircraft had been an unmanned system? With the headline:
“Unmanned Robot plane crash kills 9.” How do you think
the Congress would react to that headline — after they
confirmed my replacement?"
Babbitt told the AIA audience that change is driven by
organizations like theirs that deal with technology, and that
technology takes time. The FAA, he said, is charged with promoting
air safety, but he also said the agency is looking ahead to a time
when UAS would be able to operate with the NAS. "To assist
and be ready for UAS reaching maturity, we have special program
offices in our aviation safety and air traffic organization,
military and other government organizational liaisons for UAS. We
are doing what we can to help get you to market," he said.
"(W)e’re working on an NPRM for small UAS," he continued.
"It will define standards for routine commercial operations to meet
the needs of a large portion of the UAS community. And while
limited, it represents a significant step forward in enabling this
community. I think this experience will promote a better
understanding of the challenges that you and I face. We’re
also working on revising a memorandum of agreement with DoD that
addresses specific critical access needs."
Babbitt concluded saying that the time when UAS would operate
alongside more conventional aircraft is coming. "Given that
unmanned aircraft are becoming the method of choice to conduct
mapping, fire detection, scientific missions, weather mapping,
volcanic sampling, search and rescues, disaster response and
security surveillance, the need for standardized regulations has
never been more paramount. We need to develop standards for the
future. But we must make sure that we’re all moving in the
same direction before it happens. Those safety standards must be
the same for everyone, even if no one’s in the cockpit."