by Kelly A. Daly On December 28, 2020, the FAA released the Remote Identification of Unmanned Aircraft Final Rule. This long-awaited Remote ID rule, identified as the next incremental step to integrating drones into the National Airspace System, requires the broadcasting of drone information that is crucial for airspace awareness, accountability, safety and security. Drone operators […]
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by Patrick J. Paul Having recently been granted an emergency Part 107 waiver from the Federal Aviation Administration, Novant Health, Inc., a not-for-profit, integrated healthcare system headquartered in North Carolina, in partnership with San Francisco-based drone delivery company, Zipline, has commenced medical drone delivery for the first time in the United States. Novant announced the […]
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by Patrick Paul As the case for drone use to help respond to the coronavirus pandemic, whether to enforce social distancing guidelines, announce current developments, or deliver needed medical and food supplies, grows internationally, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on April 14, 2020, announced the enabling of drone use for COVID-19 response efforts within the […]
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by Patrick J. Paul As COVID-19 continues its spread across the U.S. and globe and governments react with historic aid measures, social distance and stay at home orders, it seems opportunities for accelerated drone deployment to help with the COVID-19 spread in the U.S. may be missed. Drones can reduce human involvement in the supply […]
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by Patrick J. Paul As the Coronavirus pandemic continues its spread across the globe, the case for drone delivery is rapidly gaining international attention and consequently may have regulatory approval fast-tracked. In China, drone delivery systems previously utilized for residential mail delivery were re-purposed in the medical supplies field to assist hospitals’ response to the […]
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by Patrick J. Paul On August 29, the Federal Aviation Administration announced that it was working with other federal agencies to reduce the impact of flight restrictions imposed on drone operators flying in close proximity to certain federal facilities. In particular, the FAA announced that it is working with the Department of Defense to create […]
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by Patrick J. Paul On May 17, 2019, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) published a notice implementing the statutory exception for limited recreational operations of unmanned aircraft or drones necessitated by the 2018 FAA Reauthorization Act, which repealed Section 336 of the prior Reauthorization that had sheltered recreational drones from regulation. Federal Aviation Administration Notice, […]
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by Patrick J. Paul On September 21, 2017, in what is believed to be the first federal court ruling on the issue of local drone regulation, the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts in Singer v. City of Newton, overturned a 2016 ordinance passed by the Newton, MA, City Council regulating pilotless aircraft […]
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by Patrick J. Paul On Friday, May 19, 2017, less than a month after the National Park Service’s first use of a drone in a Grand Canyon search and rescue mission, the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals struck down a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) rule requiring owners of small unmanned aircraft operated for […]
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