The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has upheld the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) authority to regulate commercial use of unmanned air vehicles (UAV) in national airspace.

The NTSB decision followed after a ruling by an administrative law judge earlier this year that said the FAA has no authority to act over UAV.

In March, the FAA issued a $10,000 fine for Raphael Pirker, who allegedly operated a Ritewing Zephyr drone recklessly in 2011, to film a promotional video for the University of Virginia.

At the time, the administrative law judge dismissed the FAA fine against drone pilot.

The FAA appealed to the NTSB over the judge’s ruling.

"The definitions draw no distinction between whether a device is manned or unmanned. An aircraft is ‘any’ ‘device’ that is ‘used for flight."

The agency argued that the UAVs can be regulated similarly to that of a manned aircraft.

In its ruling, the NTSB said that the current regulations define aircraft as ‘a device that is used or intended to be used for flight in the air’.

The NTSB added: "Furthermore, the definitions draw no distinction between whether a device is manned or unmanned. An aircraft is ‘any’ ‘device’ that is ‘used for flight."

Accepting the FAA’s argument, the NTSB passed the case onto a judge to determine whether the pilot operated the aircraft ‘in a careless or reckless manner so as to endanger the life or property of another’.

FAA said: "The FAA believes Mr Pirker operated a UAS in a careless or reckless manner, and that the proposed civil penalty should stand.

"The agency looks forward to a factual determination by the administrative law judge on the ‘careless or reckless’ nature of the operation in question."

The agency is currently working to draft regulations for unmanned aircraft, and has imposed a ban on their use for commercial purposes except for those granted special exemptions.

Opposing NTSB decision, the lawyer for Pirker was reported by Reuters as saying that the latest ruling is related to whether unmanned aircraft are subject to rules on reckless operation.

"The more significant question of whether the safe operation of drones for business purposes is prohibited by any law was not addressed," he added.

Defence Technology