The U.S. FAA has begun to review a series of recommendations on registering small unmanned aircraft systems (s-UAS) and is moving “quickly and flexibly” toward establishing the registry, FAA Administrator Michael Huerta said. The recommendations were delivered to the agency November 21 by the UAS Registration Task Force Aviation Rulemaking Committee, which was tasked in October with devising a proposal for establishing a registry. Huerta said the ARC, which comprises representatives from about 25 organizations, “embraced the challenge with the energy and creativity we expected.” The FAA sought a tight timeline for the recommendations so a registry could be established in time for the holiday season.
The recommendations call for the registration requirements to apply to s-UAS weighing more than 250 grams and up to 55 pounds and to provide the operator's name and address.
NBAA, a participant of the ARC, noted the registration is “designed to help instill a sense of accountability and responsibility among UAS pilots, and it also will prompt them to become educated about safe flying in the NAS.”
But the Academy of Model Aeronautics said, “As written, these recommendations would make the registration process an unnecessary and unjustified burden to our 185,000 members, who have operated harmoniously within the aviation community for decades.”