Many Perceive A Threat To Commercial Air Traffic

A hearing Tuesday by the House Transportation Committee's Aviation Subcommittee was dominated by concerns about drones, and what regulations should be considered. But the panel has a host of technical and legal factors to consider.

FAA associate administrator for aviation safety Ali Bahrami told the panel that the FAA agrees that "something needs to be done to regulate them. We need to work with you.”

The transportation website Transportation Today reports that Oregon Democrat Pete DeFazio said that congress acted "stupidly" when it rejected regulating the rapidly-growing number of recreational drones in the U.S. He said the believes all drones should be registered, and possibly licensed.

Matthew Hampton, assistant Inspector General for Aviation Audits at the Department of Transportation, said that the eventuality of a drone colliding with a commercial airliner is "not a question of if, but when."

Bahrami said that the FAA is still not sure how much authority it will have over recreational drones after a U.S. Court of Appeals ruled last year that it could not require recreational drone users to register their aircraft. He said it was up to Congress to change the law and repeal the ban on registration of recreational model aircraft that was included in the 2012 FAA reauthorization act.

DeFazio's position was supported by ALPA president Capt. Tim Canoll, who called on Congress to pass legislation to address what he described as safety threats to commercial airliners posed by recreational drones.

(Image from file)

FMI: Original report