In this image made from drone video taken on Monday, April 27, 2015, an aerial view of damage caused by Saturday's earthquake in Patan Durbar Square, Kathmandu, Nepal. (AP Photo/Casey Allred/Effect.org)
Research has found that reducing the timeline of the early phases of recovery can expedite the entire recovery process and may even support more successful searches for survivors, but current FAA policy doesn’t enable the private sector to use drones for disaster recovery purposes at the most critical times. For example, Section 333 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 grants the Secretary of Transportation the authority to determine whether an airworthiness certificate is required for an unmanned aerial system (UAS, the formal term for a drone) to operate safely in the National Airspace System. Currently, Section 333 exemptions can take up to 60 days to be granted. In terms of disaster response, 60 days is often too late to effectively save lives and mitigate losses.
“The real time acquisition of aerial imagery after a disaster will allow for the rapid deployment of personnel to assess damage and save lives,” said Brandon DeClet, CEO and co-founder of Measure. “This improved response time will lower the long-term costs of recovery and help to rebuild communities faster.”
The report outlined the following eight policy recommendations, addressing how to safely and more effectively integrate private drone operations into the emergency response regulatory framework.
1. Develop an emergency Certificate of Waiver or Authorization (COA) process for private sector and non-profit organizations that would allow for the on-demand operation of drones immediately after a disaster and issue blanket approval for locations in which these entities can fly.
An emergency COA process for private sector and nonprofit organizations would grant authorization within 24 hours, allowing for rapid response when a disaster is declared by a governor or other relevant state or territory authority, or FEMA.
As part of the Section 333 exemption process, the report recommends that the FAA permit the provision of an emergency COA or expedited COA for non-government drone operators performing disaster response operations in controlled airspace. The FAA is also urged to create a process that would allow for expedited processing of COA amendments for new geographic locations based on the disaster site.
(Photo: Shutterstock/Tyler Olson)
2. Permit small and microUAS (drones under 4.4 pounds) operations in controlled airspace within disaster areas.
According to the FAA, controlled airspace is a generic term that covers the different classifications of airspace and defined dimensions within which air traffic control service is provided, and consists of Classes A through E. (Class A airspace is generally the airspace from 18,000 feet above sea level and up.)
The study recommends that the FAA allow commercial micro-drones to operate in Class B, C, D and E airspace and set priorities for commercial drone operations on those classes of airspace for disaster response. Recognizing that the agency may want or need certain limitations on drone operations, the report notes that such limitations could include:
- Providing advanced notice of flight,
- Utilizing geo-fencing technology,
- Filing flight plans and
- Enacting flight restrictions.
(Photo: Shutterstock/Newnow)
3. Permit commercial small and microUAS operations over populated areas during declared emergencies.
FAA’s recently released proposed regulations for small drones prohibits small drone use over any persons not directly involved in the operation, reflecting privacy and safety concerns, among others. The report also notes that the current FAA Section 333 exemption and COA process has not permitted any of the authorized drone operators to fly over congested or populated areas, or within 500 feet of any nonparticipating person, regardless of the size of the drone.
In reality, many natural disasters can have what the report terms “enormous impacts,” particularly in highly populated areas. Limiting drone operation to remote locations, the report says, “will greatly reduce the benefit of operating drones for disaster relief efforts.”
For flights over populated areas, the report recommends the same limitations as in #3.
(Photo: Shutterstock/arka38)
4. Accelerate the implementation of the new unmanned aircraft operator certificate requirement to the existing Section 333 exemption process.
In the proposed regulations, the FAA outlined a new unmanned aircraft operator certificate requirement. The report recommends that the FAA apply this new requirement to the current Section 333 exemption process, which could shorten the 60-day review period significantly.
(Photo: Shutterstock/jijomathaidesigners)
5. Encourage data sharing between governments, the private sector and commercial drone operators to maximize response strategy, speed and efficiency.
Coordination among the various organizations that respond to natural disasters is key. To eliminate the need for drone flight operations from multiple responding organizations, the report urges the development of best practices that would allow for the sharing of aerial data in commonly used formats.
Establishing situational awareness is a key goal of public emergency response agencies, humanitarian organizations, and insurance companies, as well as construction and engineering firms. For drone deployment models that use public/private partnerships, the report recommends that all stakeholders establish voluntary agreements on data usage, privacy controls and security in advance.
(Photo: Shutterstock/bleakstar)
6. Encourage the development and implementation of Privacy Best Practices for drone operations in according with the presidential memorandum, “Promoting Economic Competitiveness While Safeguarding Privacy, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties in Domestic Use of Unmanned Aircraft Systems.” Verify that drone operators observe all applicable local, state and federal privacy laws.
The FAA should ensure that aerial data from drones is used in a manner that places a high priority on privacy. The report notes that the presidential memorandum orders all federal agency use of drone data to comply with the Privacy Act of 1974 and directs the Department of Commerce to create a framework for privacy, accountability and transparency for commercial and private drone use. The report calls this “a constructive first step” toward comprehensive privacy protection.
(Photo: Shutterstock/iQoncept)
7. Have a process in place in the event of a disaster for scaling up FAA staff resources to process requests to fly so that they can be handled quickly.
As with most organizations, the FAA is staffed for day-to-day operations with an estimated workload that is likely to increase during a natural disaster. As drones become increasingly common in the national airspace and in disaster and relief operations, the report finds it essential that the FAA be prepared to handle the influx of requests to fly drones during and after a disaster
(Photo: Shutterstock/iQoncept)
8. Constantly adapt FAA drone regulations as airspace integration and deployment models evolve.
The traditional method of issuing regulations is to publish a notice of proposed rulemaking, gather comments from stakeholders, revise the regulations, possibly issue another set of proposed regulations, gather more comments, revise the regulations again, then issue final regulations. The process can take years, and technology can—and does—outpace the process.
The report recognizes that drone technology is evolving rapidly and the number of new applications for drones being discovered increases every day. The FAA is urged to continually work to craft the most modern, up-to-date set of regulations possible.
The study is the result of a coordinated effort by the public and private sectors. In addition to Zurich, other private sector involvement included Boeing/Insitu, Guy Carpenter & Co., IBM Smarter Cities, Lockheed Martin, United Parcel Service (UPS), USAA, and Willis Group. The Department of Homeland Security, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Federal Emergency Management Agency, National Emergency Management Association, U.S. Coast Guard and National Governors Association were among the public sector participants.
You can read more about the recommendations, proposed use cases and platforms, payloads and software in the full text of the report, available here.
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