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by michael_miller
4110 days ago
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IMHO, the commercial vs. private distinction doesn't make sense when applied to drones. For airplanes, the logic is that paying passengers expect a certain level of safety which cannot be provided by someone with 40 hours of flight time. In essence, the FAA is shielding paying customers from the risks of low-time pilots. For drones, this logic doesn't follow. A private operation inherently has the same risks as a commercial operation. There's no passengers to kill - only people on the ground to hurt. The people are there regardless of whether you're flying for hire or not, and have no say on your flight. I do think drones pose a significant risk to the NAS (National Airspace System) unless regulated correctly. To me this doesn't mean that we need to start fining people who post YouTube videos. I believe a pragmatic approach is best - people are going to be dumb and use drones for illegal / dangerous things. The best action the FAA can take to mitigate this is to require manufacturers to include an ADS-B transponder to broadcast the drone's GPS position at all times. At least then, pilots can safely avoid reckless drone pilots. |
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