FAA Gives Amazon Go-Ahead for Delivery Drone Tests
The Federal Aviation Administration has issued an experimental airworthiness certificate to an Amazon Logistics, Inc. unmanned aircraft (UAS) design that Amazon will use for research and development and crew training. Amazon has said it wants to use drones for delivering packages to customers.
The FAA typically issues experimental certificates to manufacturers and technology developers to operate a UAS that does not have a type certificate.
Under the provisions of the certificate, all flight operations must be conducted at 400 feet or below during daylight hours in visual meteorological conditions. The UAS must always remain within visual line-of-sight of the pilot and observer. The pilot actually flying the aircraft must have at least a private pilot’s certificate and current medical certification.
The certificate also requires Amazon to provide monthly data to the FAA. The company must report the number of flights conducted, pilot duty time per flight, unusual hardware or software malfunctions, any deviations from air traffic controllers’ instructions, and any unintended loss of communication links. The FAA includes these reporting requirements in all UAS experimental airworthiness certificates.
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The stringent requirements of the FAA appear to inhibit the ambitious plan that Amazon has formulated. Besides the simplistic issues of package weight limits, how can Amazon meet the requirement of keeping a visual on the delivery drone?