The Passive Regulator: How The FAA's Failure To Act Affects The Development Of Drone Technology

Late last year, Jeff Bezos, the founder and CEO of Amazon, made national news with his announcement that Amazon was working on a drone system that could be used to deliver packages to the consumer's front door. At roughly the same time, the Federal Aviation Administration ("FAA"), the federal agency responsible for oversight of these unmanned aircraft systems ("UAS"), issued a set of documents broadly outlining its plans for integration of these systems into the U.S. national airspace system ("NAS"). Shortly before New Year's Day, the FAA announced six UAS test sites that will be instrumental in developing the necessary knowledge to facilitate this integration. In light of these recent public announcements, one could reasonably think that the advent of domestic drone technology is right around the corner. In truth, the United States is a long way from allowing routine use of UAS in domestic airspace. However, a recent decision from an administrative law judge ("ALJ")