AMA Responds That Community-Based Programs Are More Effective

President Obama on Tuesday renewed his call for regulations on UAVs after one crashed on the White House lawn early Monday morning.

The operator of that UAV has been identified ... though not by name ... as an off-duty employee of an intelligence agency who had had an alcoholic beverage or two and was flying a friend's quadcopter at three in the morning when it got away from him. He has not been charged with any crime, according to the New York Times.

In remarks Tuesday, President Obama said that while UAVs can be useful in many regards, "we don't really have any kind of regulatory structure at all for it."

Obama said that, in light of the incident, he has assigned "several federal agencies" to work with "stakeholders" that will create the regulatory framework necessary to be sure that the aircraft are safe and are not "violating people's privacy," according to CNN.

"These technologies that we're developing have the capacity to empower individuals in ways that we couldn't even imagine 10-15 years ago," Obama said, pledging to work to create a framework that "ensures that we get the good and minimize the bad."

The Academy of Model Aeronautics said in a statement that more regulation will not make the situation any better.

“While the White House ‘drone’ incident is sparking calls for more regulations, the fact is, more regulation isn’t the answer. The Washington, DC, airspace is some of the most heavily regulated airspace in the world, and all aircraft operations are currently prohibited in the vicinity of the White House. Despite the existing regulations, a quadcopter still made its way onto the White House lawn this week,” said AMA President Bob Brown.
 
“Community-based programming is the key to safe and responsible flying, as our organization’s 78-year history has shown. AMA has safety guidelines, best practices and operating principles that have allowed enthusiasts to operate their aircraft and safely use this technology for more than seven decades. When an incident occurs, it’s a rare day when one of AMA’s 175,000 members is involved.
 
“AMA has always believed that the best, and perhaps the only, way to successfully manage the recreational community is through a community-based set of safety guidelines and the combined efforts of the FAA and AMA. The FAA’s recent interpretation of the Special Rule for Model Aircraft has complicated our working relationship, but it is our hope that the agency will work with us to forge a path forward for the recreational community that finds common ground on the Interpretive Rule and leverages AMA’s deep expertise when it comes to safe and responsible flying.”

(Secret Service photo of damaged UAV on White House grounds)

FMI: www.whitehouse.gov, www.modelaircraft.org