A coalition of US news media organisations have written a letter to senior policymakers urging the publication of a proposed rulemaking to enable routine uncrewed aerial system (UAS) beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operations in the United States national airspace system (NAS).
The use of footage obtained by UAS can provide journalists and communities with important information, including helping to assess widespread destruction following natural disasters.
US President Biden signed the bipartisan FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 into law in May, requiring the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to issue a notice of proposed rulemaking by September 16, 2024, to enable routine BVLOS operations by UAS. The FAA has not yet issued such a notice and as such the news media coalition letter urges the responsible federal agencies to work together to publish the proposed rule without further delay. Previous letters were sent in July, urging both the FAA and US Department of Transportation to begin the rulemaking.
“For nearly 10 years, the Coalition has worked cooperatively with the federal government toward the development of statutes, regulations, industry training, and professional best practices for the safe gathering of news by drones,” the letter states. “More than three years ago, the Coalition joined the FAA’s BVLOS Advisory Rulemaking Committee (BVLOS ARC). Together, the members of the BVLOS ARC invested thousands of hours over the course of nearly a year discussing, studying and workshopping myriad questions and concerns about the BVLOS operation of drones in order to help inform the FAA’s rulemaking proceeding that will enable routine BVLOS operations of UAS. The BVLOS ARC issued its final 569-page report in March 2022 proposing solutions ranging from airspace deconfliction to pilot training, and addressing First Amendment issues potentially implicated by certain proposals. The BVLOS ARC report provided a comprehensive recommendation for how routine BVLOS operations could be safely integrated into the NAS. Now, more than 30 months have passed since issuance of that report, and stakeholders are still waiting for the FAA to publish its rulemaking proceeding.”
The letter continues that “while waivers have enabled limited BVLOS operations, there is significant untapped potential that can only be realised with adoption of regulations that enable routine BVLOS operations”.
The coalition says its work with the FAA over the past decade demonstrates that news organisations and journalists are “dedicated to the safe and secure operation of drones”, and that it expects journalists to “devise innovative uses for drones that will permit enhanced news reporting to inform the public, save lives, and share important news”.
For more information
