DOT to Require Registration of Drones

October 22, 2015 - This week, Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx and FAA Administrator Michael Huerta announced a plan to expand registration requirements to all drones, including those used for recreation or hobby. The plan comes as the FAA works to craft new rulemaking on commercial drone operations.

“Registering unmanned aircraft will help build a culture of accountability and responsibility, especially with new users who have no experience operating in the U.S. aviation system,” Foxx said during the announcement. “It will help protect public safety in the air and on the ground.”

A task force of industry stakeholders has been formed by DOT to provide recommendations on how the registration process would be conducted. The Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems International, the Academy of Model Aeronautics, and the Air Line Pilots Association are among the groups invited by DOT to participate. The task force has been directed to provide recommendations to DOT by November 20.

EAA remains dedicated to ensuring that manned aircraft always have priority over drones in the National Airspace System. Educating those who use drones, either for recreational or commercial purposes, should be a priority for the aviation community to ensure manned aircraft are never put in danger by drones. EAA supports programs such as the Know Before You Fly campaign which do just that.

Drone registration is an issue that EAA will continue to monitor in the coming months as the DOT task force formulates and presents its recommendations. EAA will be looking for any potential impact to general aviation that this initiative may have.