LoBiondo Harshly Critical Of The FAA For Regulatory Delays

The chair of the House Transportation Aviation Subcommittee was among the speakers on the second day of the AUVSI convention which wrapped up in Atlanta Thursday.

Representative Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ) said he and others have been "frustrated" by the delays to get even the most basic applications approved for testing. "It’s nowhere near where it should be. It’s nowhere near where it can be,” he said.

LoBiondo said that important research in the high-tech unmanned aircraft industry is being pushed overseas, where the regulatory climate is more welcoming to such endeavours. And, in the congressman's opinion, "There’s one word to describe that in my book, and that’s insanity."

He urged the audience to contact their members of congress and tell them both the good and the bad stories — what promise their technology holds and what circumstances have stymied them.

“If they can understand that and understand your commitment to safety, we have a real opportunity to convince them when these issues come up that this isn’t just some other issue,” he said.

LoBiondo said that unmanned systems have the ability to change everyone’s lives, and that will only happen if the industry is allowed to move in a positive direction. And it is the responsibility of everyone attending at the conference to take action, because "no one is going to do it for them," he said.

FMI: http://transportation.house.gov