Accuses Agency Of Dragging Its Feet; FAA Says Caution Is
Needed
A Florida police chief
says local law enforcement officials need to do more to convince
the FAA and others that unmanned aerial vehicles should be deployed
on a much larger scale.
A speech given Tuesday by Donald Shinnamon, public safety
director in Holly Hill, FL, before the Association of Unmanned
Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) annual conference, stressed
the importance of UAVs to local police. Shinnamon also accused the
FAA of stonewalling on adding such vehicles to more police and fire
departments, according to Dow Jones Newswires.
"I really think the issue with the FAA is they don't have time
to deal with this right now and they don't really understand public
aircraft law," Shinnamon said in a post-speech interview.
The FAA responds a gradual phase-in for UAVs is required, in
order to ensure safety and reliability. As ANN has reported, the
agency is also under considerable pressure from pilots of manned
aircraft, to make sure UAVs are safe to operate in a
"see-and-avoid" environment.
Agency spokeswoman Laura Brown says a recent rescue effort in
Oregon shows UAVs are by no means a silver bullet solution.
"In a recent search for missing hikers on Mount Hood, conditions
were extreme and 11 out of 11 of the UAV flights that they
attempted to launch crashed," Brown said, adding the FAA currently
approves UAV operations by law enforcement and fire agencies on a
case-by-case basis.
UAV proponents point out drones have been used with considerable
success in hostile areas like Iraq and Afghanistan... but military
officials also say problems have cropped up with mid-air
collisions, and jammed signals.
Shinnamon -- who leads
an aviation committee for the International Association of Chiefs
of Police -- responds by saying UAVs used by police and fire
personnel are considerably smaller than a Global Hawk, are usually
hand-launched and typically fly less than 500 feet above ground. He
feels such aircraft, which usually weigh around 20 lbs, wouldn't
present much of a threat to other aircraft... or conflict with
existing communications equipment.
He also questions the FAA's jurisdication over the issue.
Shinnamon says he has sought assistance from lawmakers to helps
grease the wheels for UAVs.
The FAA says it doesn't want to rush the process. "Our approach
to unmanned aircraft follows the philosophy of 'do no harm,'" Brown
said.