Rockefeller: Unmanned Aviation Faces A ‘Perception Problem'

The U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation held a hearing Wednesday looking into the “The Future of Unmanned Aviation in the U.S. Economy: Safety and Privacy Considerations."

In prepared remarks, Committee Chair Senator John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV (D-WV) (pictured, left) noted that in the 2012 FAA bill, the FAA was instructed to begin figuring out how to safely introduce a new kind of aircraft into our national airspace – a type of aircraft that is operated not by pilots physically present in the cockpit, but by operators on the ground.

"Some people don’t think the FAA is moving fast enough. But I understand why the FAA is carefully considering these questions. Lives are at stake," Rockefeller said. "One of the most important problems the FAA and the industry are trying solve is avoiding collisions between unmanned and piloted aircraft. A basic assumption of our current aviation safety system is that each aircraft is operated by a human pilot trained to “see and avoid” other aircraft. What should the rules be when an unmanned aircraft and an aircraft with a human pilot and passengers are converging in the air?

"Another significant challenge the unmanned aviation industry faces is a perception problem. Many Americans associate this technology with our military’s use of unmanned aircraft in places like Iraq and Afghanistan. We are all much more familiar with the military applications of unmanned aircraft than we are with their civilian, commercial applications. We are only just now beginning to learn that these aircraft can be used to apply fertilizer to crops, film movies, monitor hurricanes, or, in the future, potentially deliver Amazon boxes to our homes," the committee chairman said. "Unmanned aircraft have tremendous economic potential, but we can’t ignore the threat they pose to our personal privacy. American consumers are already under assault by companies that collect and use our personal information."

The committee’s ranking Republican, Senator John Thune (R-SD) (above, right) said "as safety regulators work through the challenges of the integration of unmanned aircraft, questions related to privacy have certainly received a lot of attention. I look forward to hearing from the witnesses regarding the current framework of privacy protections – including at the six test sites – and discussing what role, if any, the FAA should have in policing those concerns.
 
"Of course, as we consider the privacy implications for unmanned aircraft, we will likely need to think beyond the now-common image of military-style drones – perhaps Amazon’s recent discussion about possibly using unmanned aircraft for package deliveries has already done that," Thune said. "These aircraft are currently being flown, albeit in limited fashion, around the world, and the benefits certainly look promising. We must also remember that the aviation industry is a competitive worldwide industry, and the timely resolution of both the safety issues and privacy concerns will be necessary for the U.S. to utilize such technologies, while also maintaining its leadership position in this emerging aviation sector."

FAA Administrator Michael Huerta (pictured) said in his prepared remarks that the potential uses for UAS technology range from homeland security, emergency management and law enforcement, to food and package delivery. But realistically, neither the technical nor operational capabilities necessary exist today to implement the opportunities described by visionaries, but their promises for 21st century conveniences are compelling.

"Meeting the challenges for realizing this potential will take a concerted effort and must achieve the requisite balance of maximizing the technological benefits, while maintaining safety and efficiency of the national airspace system (NAS)," Huerta said. "I would like to update you on the FAA's efforts as we work with government and industry to improve the technologies associated with UAS so that their integration into the NAS can be achieved in a safe and acceptable manner. It is important to put the integration of UAS into the NAS in its proper context. The FAA has a history of accommodating new technology into the NAS safely and effectively.

"UAS is the latest technology to be developed that FAA is working to integrate. While FAA’s role in this effort is critical, it is limited to NAS safety and operational efficiency. As with other manned technologies, FAA’s role does not extend to directing or otherwise limiting the underlying purposes for which the aircraft is used. Consequently, if a particular UAS operation does not impact the safety or efficiency of the NAS, it is beyond FAA’s authority to enforce or otherwise correct that action. However, because FAA is uniquely positioned to gather information from our regulated entities, we are committed to sharing pertinent information to better enable the resolution of all issues affecting the use of UAS, even when they are not specifically safety related."

Thune pointed out that Wednesday's hearing would likely be the first of several to be held by Congress before UAVs are integrated into the NAS.

FMI: www.commerce.senate.gov