The U.S. Department of Transportation has set course to require many drone hobbyists to register as the number of pilots sightings of unmanned aerial vehicles has risen dramatically and consumer sales of drones grow rapidly, federal authorities said Monday.
Aviation industry, trade group and government leaders have joined together to draft recommendations by Nov 20 with a target date of putting the requirement in place by mid-December, officials said a Monday press conference in Washington, D.C.
“We do feel the level of urgency here is to move as quickly as possible,” Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx told reporters. “The reality here is the signal we’re sending today is when you enter the national air space it’s a very serious manner. You are not riding an ATV on your own property.”
Registration, which Foxx expects would be retroactive, would make tracing the drone to an operator easier, he said.
The momentum to act within weeks comes as the Federal Aviation Administration has reported more than 900 sightings by pilots and others over concerns of drones in flight this year compared to 238 sightings for all of last year.
“These reports signal a troubling trend,” FAA Administrator Michael Huerta said in a statement. “Registration will help make sure that operators know the rules and remain accountable to the public for flying their unmanned aircraft responsibly. When they don’t fly safely, they’ll know there will be consequences.”
It’s hard to identify drones seen operating illegally near airports and planes or over crowds, and registration by itself won’t change that. But it would allow the FAA to identify drones when they can be recovered after landing or crashing, a common occurrence.
Earlier this year, drones operated illegally crashed on the White House lawn and at the New York stadium where the U.S. Open Tennis Championships were being held. In both cases the drone operators came forward. But if they hadn’t, the government would have had no way to identify them.
For some, the question is where is the cut off on who would have to register and doubts about how quickly the rule can be put in place.
“If they require everything to be (registered) it’s going to be absolutely horrible,” said Randy Kastl, a drone hobbyist and owner of The Hobby Shop near the Dayton Mall.
Small drones, say those two pounds or less, are often sold as toys and don’t create the kinds of issues federal officials have concerns about compared to larger drones, officials said.
“We have some that are thirty dollars that a 7-year-old can fly,” Kastl said. “Are you really going to register a 7-year-old for one he’s going to fly around his living room?”
Kastl said he has suggested to the FAA ownership registration of drones, much like registering for a fishing license, to make operations safer. But he’s doubtful registration can happen as soon as federal authorities outlined Monday.
“I don’t see that happening with Christmas 70 days away,” he said.
The announced change could impact sales of larger drones, he said. “People have already started to come in and ask about it,” Kastl said. “I think it’s because there’s too much ambiguity going on.”
The Consumers Electronic Association has forecast 700,000 drone sales this year and 1.1 million in 2016. The FAA is at work on rules to fly small drones for commercial operation the agency has said could be in place next spring. The FAA has given waivers to more than 1,500 businesses to start commercial operations.
Frank Beafore, executive director of SelectTech Geospatial, an unmanned aerial vehicle maker in Springfield, questioned the need to register drone hobbyists.
“Registration is already required for (commercial unmanned aerial system users) so we’re talking about the hobby community and I have no idea what good registration will do,” he said.
He said the radio controlled model airplane industry has inspired generations of engineers. “All it’s going to do is hurt the hobbyists and hurt the engineering invocation,” he said.
Registering drones that could pose safety risks “makes sense, but it should not become a prohibitive burden for recreational users who fly for fun and educational purposes and who have operated harmoniously within our communities for decades,” Dave Mathewson, executive director of the Academy for Model Aeronautics, said in a statement.
The Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems International President and CEO Brian Wynne said in a statement has said extending the registration requirement beyond commercial operators to other users “will help promote responsibility and safety.”
The Air Line Pilots Association and members of Congress have been calling for drone registration.
“This is a simple and necessary tactic to immediately identify the owner and drive home” the importance of safety rules, said Tim Canoll, president of the pilots union.
Sinclair Community College officials who oversee a drone education and training program said registration would encourage safer recreational flying. A drone user “might think twice before putting it up in a crowded place or stadium,” said Deborah Norris, Sinclair vice president of workforce development and corporate services.
“It may also encourage people to seek a little bit more training, too,” said Andrew Shepherd, Sinclair’s UAS program director.
There is virtually no difference between model aircraft and the drones used by many commercial operators. Model aircraft also vary widely in size, weight and capability. Some are larger than the 55 pounds the FAA uses to define small drones, and can fly thousands of feet high.
The FAA signed an agreement last month with CACI International Inc., an information technology company in Arlington, Virginia, to test technology that could locate the operators of small drones that are flying illegally near airports. The technology would let the government track radio signals used to operate drones within a 5-mile radius and identify the operator’s location.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.