Christine N. Walz is a Associate in our
Washington, D.C. office.
HIGHLIGHTS:
- On June 10, 2014, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
approved the first commercial drone operation over land in the
United States.
- Current FAA regulations prohibit any use of drones for
commercial or business purposes, however, the FAA will grant
waivers under limited circumstances.
Today, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approved the
first commercial drone operation over land in the United States.
The FAA, which refers to drones as unmanned aerial systems (UAS),
has given energy corporation British Petroleum (BP) and UAS
manufacturer AeroVironment permission to fly drones to conduct
aerial surveys of BP pipelines, roads and equipment in Prudhoe Bay,
Alaska – the largest oilfield in the U.S. This waiver follows
the FAA's earlier approval of drone operations to conduct
aerial surveillance over Arctic waters.
