First, the ground rules. All owners of drones
weighing more than 0.55 lbs when fully loaded must register the device
with the FAA. Those who purchased a drone prior to December 21, 2015
must register by February 19, 2016, even if the drone has previously
flown while unregistered. Anyone who buys a drone after December 21 must
register before the aircraft takes its first flight. Children 13 and
over can register their own vehicles, but drones for kids under 13 must
be registered by someone at least 13 years of age. Upon registering, the
aircraft owner will receive a certificate of registration, which must
then be affixed to the aircraft.
According to the official rules:
“Aircraft registration provides an immediate and direct opportunity for
the agency to engage and educate these new users prior to operating
their unmanned aircraft and to hold them accountable for noncompliance
with safe operating requirements, thereby mitigating the risk associated
with the influx of operations. In light of the increasing reports and
incidents of unsafe incidents, rapid proliferation of both commercial
and model aircraft operators, and the resulting increased risk, the
Department has determined it is contrary to the public interest to
proceed with further notice and comment rulemaking regarding aircraft
registration for small unmanned aircraft. To minimize risk to other
users of the NAS and people and property on the ground, it is critical
that the Department be able to link the expected number of new unmanned
aircraft to their owners and educate these new owners prior to
commencing operations.”
The initial registration costs $5, but the
government is waiving that fee to encourage people to sign up. Sign-ups
can also be performed online, at the following website.
Failure to register one’s drone carries a steep penalty — up to $27,000
in civil fines. If an unregistered drone is involved in criminal
activity, the penalty jumps to $250,000 and up to three years in jail.
The FAA is claiming that the 0.55 lb weight requirement means that a
number of toy drones don’t need to be registered, though I’ve seen users
arguing this is not the case.
The $5 requirement is the same fee
the FAA has charged to register aircraft since 1966 and has not been
updated since then. In real terms, it’s actually much cheaper to
register a drone today than it was to register an aircraft in 1966, when
$5 was worth $36.70 in today’s money. According to FAA testimony from
2010, the $5 fee doesn’t actually cover registration and renewal
expenses, though that may have been before the adoption of the online
form.
While it’s true that these rules won’t stop people from
flying drones into restricted airspace or interfering with firefighters,
the FAA believes that the majority of reported drone incidents are
caused by ignorance, not deliberate attempts to interfere. By requiring
drone registration, the government hopes to reduce such incidents in the
long run.
12/14/2015
The FAA announces drone registration requirements, waives registration fee
For months, the drone
industry has been waiting to see what the FAA’s registration
requirements for unmanned aircraft (UAS, or what we typically call
“drones”) would be, as well as how much they’d cost. The FAA has finally
released its drone registration plan, and the organization appears to
have taken several steps to ensure registration is relatively easy and
painless. The penalty for not registering, on the other hand, is
anything but.
The
FAA is implementing these rules relatively quickly based on the rapid
rise of drones and increasing interference with other vehicles. The
total number of drone incidents reported in 2014 was 238. In 2015, it
leapt to 1133. With hundreds of thousands of drone sales expected over
the Christmas holiday, the FAA is clearly concerned about the potential
for even more incidents in 2016. As we’ve covered before, the risks of
drone ingestion and the subsequent aircraft damage that could occur is no laughing matter.
Depending on their size and weight, drones can be difficult for
aircraft or helicopter pilots to see, can maneuver much more quickly
than their larger cousins, and could cause catastrophic damage in the
event an accident. Couple these problems with the fact that most drone
operators have little to no knowledge of how to operate within
restricted airspace and no means of establishing radio contact with
other aircraft, and you’ve got a disaster waiting to happen.
Drones interfered with multiple firefighting efforts this year, putting crews and planes at risk.
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