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Let’s not ground drones because of a few ‘close calls’

Let’s not ground drones because of a few ‘close calls’

by | Feb 27, 2018 | AMA National News, UAV

A recent article describing a brewing controversy over Drone Flights published yesterday in The Hill.  AMA members are urged to stay informed and fly responsibly : Last week, the Air Line Pilots Association, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, and Airlines for America issued a letter to Congress calling for tighter regulation on drones. Responding to a video captured by a drone illegally flying within feet of a jet landing at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, the letter calls on Congress to get aggressive with hobby and recreational drone use. “The likelihood that a drone will collide with an airline aircraft,” the letter concludes, “is increasing.” The letter — echoing many of the news headlines surrounding the video — makes a common error: Observing one collision and a handful of “close calls” does not mean the probability of or the dangers presented by drone collisions have changed. Indeed, the best estimates show that the risk is extremely low, and the one confirmed collision that caused no injuries is consistent with an acceptable risk level. This may sound like technical nitpicking, but it has significant implications for the future of drone regulation. The signers of the letter call for the implementation of an onerous drone registry and mandates for all drones to be equipped with tracking technology, but they fail to demonstrate that drones pose a significant risk that requires new regulations, rather than better enforcement of some current ones. Understanding the need for regulation requires some knowledge of the risk drones pose. A 2016 analysis by our former Mercatus colleagues Eli Dourado and Sam Hammond approximated that risk by looking at incidents of birds striking airplanes in...
Support the House AIRR Act (HR 2997)

Support the House AIRR Act (HR 2997)

by | Jul 20, 2017 | District News

AMA is strongly supporting the House version of the FAA reauthorization bill (HR 2997), formally known as the 21st Century Aviation Innovation Reform & Reauthorization (AIRR) Act, and we need your help to get it across the finish line. The House is finalizing this legislation now and is expected to have a floor vote soon. Read more and click this link to see how you can...
Utah to consider flights over 400 feet as a misdemeanor

Utah to consider flights over 400 feet as a misdemeanor

by | Mar 2, 2017 | AMA National News, Uncategorized

This is very very important tasking. Please follow the link below and send a message to UTAH. http://amablog.modelaircraft.org/amagov/2017/03/01/utah-to-consider-flights-over-400-feet-as-a-misdemeanor/ Utah to consider flights over 400 feet as a misdemeanor Utah is pushing through legislation that is harmful to the operation of model aircraft and violates federal authority. So far AMA’s government relations team was successful in removing language such as restrictions on nighttime operations, but now we need your help to stop other unjust restrictions. The bill, S.B. 111 is currently under reveiw by the governor. The bill mandates that modelers must operate below 400 feet. While that altitude limit is appropriate for many modelers, this bill prohibits safe and federally-approved operations over 400 feet. AMA members could unjustly face misdemeanors for following AMA’s safety programming to operate sailplanes, turbine aircraft, large model aircraft, and other disciplines above 400 feet. S.B. 111 also penalizes model pilots with approval from the FAA from conducting commercial operations over 400 feet. The bill’s airport notification requirement is not consistent with federal guidelines and could be problematic. We have created a letter on your behalf at www.modelaircraft.org/gov/sb111. Please act now to stop this problematic...