Drone

The US Transportation Department and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have created a task force to develop recommendations for a registration process for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) or drones.

The announcement was made by US transportation secretary Anthony Foxx and FAA administrator Michael Huerta, who asked the task force to prepare the report by next month.

A group of 25-30 representatives from the UAS and manned aviation industries, federal government, and other stakeholders will be included in the task force.

They will offer suggestions on which aircraft should be included and excluded from the registration process. Recommendations will be taken on the basis of the high and low safety risk of the aircrafts.

Low safety risk aircrafts include toys and other small UAS.

The task force will focus on developing a streamlined system that would make registration less burdensome for commercial UAS operators.

The group may suggest additional safety recommendations.

"Registration will help make sure that operators know the rules and remain accountable to the public for flying their unmanned aircraft responsibly."

Foxx said: "Registering unmanned aircraft will help build a culture of accountability and responsibility, especially with new users who have no experience operating in the US aviation system.

"It will help protect public safety in the air and on the ground."

The FAA receives reports of potentially unsafe UAS operations nearly every day, which include incidents at major sporting events and flights near manned aircraft, interference with wildfire operations and others.

Between 2014 and 2015, pilot sightings of UAS have also doubled.

Huerta said: "These reports signal a troubling trend.

"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."

The FAA announced it would continue its education and outreach efforts such as the ‘Know Before You Fly’ campaign and ‘No Drone Zone’ initiatives with the nation’s busiest airports.

It will continue to take strong enforcement action against violators and work with stakeholders to improve aviation safety.

Image: The US Transportation Department and FAA have created a task force to develop recommendations for a registration process for unmanned aircraft systems or drones. Photo: courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net.