Guidance Issued By The Agency May Lead To Arrests Of Operators

If you thought information entered into the FAA's UAV registration site would be kept private, you're in for a surprise.

There has been some confusion about whether the names and addresses of those registering their aircraft would be kept private. Initially, the FAA had said in an FAQ posted on its website that the FAA and the contractor it is using for the registration process would be bound by privacy laws that would have kept that information confidential. But Forbes reports that contributor John Goglia got a different answer from the DOT, and later from the FAA.

The FAA told Goglia that while there would initially not be a search function available on the website, it plans to incorporate such a function in the future. 

Forbes reports that according to the Department of Transportation, the parent agency of the FAA, the names and addresses of the registered UAV users will be made public in the future.

Model aircraft and UAV owners as young as 13 are required to register.

In a separate report, Forbes says that the guidance issued by the FAA to law enforcement agencies is misleading and could lead to the harassment or arrest of UAV operators.

The guidance states that "All UAS greater than 0.55 lbs are required to be registered, regardless of the type of operation. The operator must provide the registration certificate upon request and the UAS must be marked with the appropriate registration or serial number. To verify registration, contact an [FAA] agent during normal business hours or the Regional Ops Center after hours.”

But those who already own aircraft have a grace period until February 19, 2016 to register their aircraft. Goglia said in his piece that the confusion could lead to enforcement actions against existing aircraft owners who have legally opted to wait until the deadline to complete their registration.

Speaking of waiting, the Academy of Model Aeronautics is still looking into ways that it can stop the registration process, and has urged its members to not register immediately so that it can continue exploring options.

(Images from file)

FMI: www.faa.gov