The Academy Of Model Aeronautics (AMA) Sends Letters To Government Officials Stating They Support The Prohibition Of Small Drones Near Firefighting Operations

In July, a brush-fire broke out in the vicinity of Phelan, CA that was both dangerous and spectacular, and well covered by the media. These reports also focused on the fact that airborne firefighting operations were hampered by what was reported to be 5 recreational drones being flown in the fire area.

AMA president, Bob Brown, has sent a letter to the FAA Administrator, the Director of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, and the Chief of the U.S. Forest Service acknowledging the danger of recreational drones being flown in the vicinity of firefighting operations, and he reiterated AMA’s position about the safe operation of recreational model aircraft.

In the letter, Brown stated that “Our more than 176,000 members know where to fly and where not to fly. They know to check for temporary flight restrictions (TFRs), such as those put in place around wildfires, and to stay well clear of any manned aircraft. Unfortunately, the same is not always true for the legions of new “drone” flyers increasingly taking to the skies.”

Brown’s letter continued, “That’s why AMA worked with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the unmanned aircraft system (UAS) industry to create the “Know Before You Fly” campaign last year. Following reports of recent interference with firefighting operations, we updated the campaign’s website to specifically address wildfires and we issued an alert to media, encouraging reporters out west to promote the campaign’s message about fires.”

He also urged these agencies to not consider all drone operators as the villains when he wrote, “Errant consumers flying in an unsafe manner do not represent the organized hobbyist community. As you might appreciate, it upsets our members when they feel their long-standing, safe and educational hobby is maligned because of the actions of a few individuals. Therefore, we encourage your agencies to refrain from making broad comments about the hobbyist community, as it undermines our joint efforts to work together to enhance the safety of our nation’s airspace for all users. If you have specific information on the types of platforms involved in these reported incidents that you could share with us, we can better and more effectively target our efforts to these offenders.”

All recreational flyers, whether it be model aircraft or manned aircraft, can help in AMA’s effort to educate the general public about the appropriate way to operate recreational small drones. Without solid FAA guidance as to their appropriate operation, it’s up to the rest of us to preach the gospel of common sense.

FMI: www.modelaircraft.org.