Does Not See The Agency Making Its 2015 Deadline

The DOT's Office of the Inspector General (OIG) says that the FAA is unlikely to meet its 2015 deadline for integrating UAVs into the National Airspace System (NAS).

In a 33-page report released last week, the OAG concludes that "as the number of UAS operating in domestic airspace increases, safety risks will persist until FAA establishes performance, air traffic control, and certification standards to regulate UAS use. Until FAA is successful in establishing these standards and adhering to a comprehensive integration plan with other public and private stakeholders, it will remain unclear when, and if, FAA can meet its goals to safely integrate UAS."

The report indicates that significant technological, regulatory, and management barriers exist to safely integrate UAS into the NAS.

First, following many years of working with industry, FAA has not reached consensus on standards for technology that would enable UAS to detect and avoid other aircraft and ensure reliable data links between ground stations and the unmanned aircraft they control.

Second, FAA has not established a regulatory framework for UAS integration, such as aircraft certification requirements, standard air traffic procedures for safely managing UAS with manned aircraft, or an adequate controller training program for managing UAS.

Third, FAA is not effectively collecting and analyzing UAS safety data to identify risks. This is because FAA has not developed procedures for ensuring that all UAS safety incidents are reported and tracked or a process for sharing UAS safety data with the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), the largest user of UAS.

Finally, FAA is not effectively managing its oversight of UAS operations. Although FAA established a UAS Integration Office, it has not clarified lines of reporting or established clear guidance for UAS regional inspectors on authorizing and overseeing UAS operations. Until FAA addresses these barriers, UAS integration will continue to move at a slow pace, and safety risks will remain.

The OIG says that the FAA has completed 9 of the act’s 17 UAS provisions, such as selecting 6 test sites, publishing a UAS Roadmap,3 and developing a comprehensive plan outlining FAA’s UAS plans in the near- and long-term. However, the Agency missed the statutory milestones for most of these provisions, and much work remains to fully implement them.

"FAA is making some progress in meeting UAS-related provisions of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012," the OIG said in the report, "but the Agency is significantly behind schedule in meeting most of them, including the goal of achieving safe integration by September 2015."

FMI: Full Report