Drone Rules Raise Preemption Questions

The Federal Aviation Administration's recently announced rules for commercial operation of small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS or drones), set to take effect later this month, provide long-awaited guidance to drone operators and manufacturers and open the floodgates of opportunity to many businesses that hope to utilize drone technology in various ways in coming years. Indeed, with reports predicting that the expansion of commercial drones could generate more than $82 billion for the U.S. economy and add 100,000 new U.S. jobs over the next decade, numerous companies are evaluating how they can capitalize on the greater availability of drones across many industries, including aerial photography and filmmaking, real estate, precision agriculture, infrastructure monitoring and surveillance and scientific research.