Drone enthusiasts worry over new federal oversight

Drones. Unmanned aircraft. Remote-controlled helicopters. Model airplanes. If it flies, the FAA may want to know about it. And many aircraft enthusiasts have concerns.

According to the FAA website, all unmanned aircraft systems weighing between 0.55 and 55 pounds and used for recreation must be registered with the FAA by Feb. 19. If the craft was purchased after Dec. 21, 2015, it must be registered before it is flown outdoors. All aircraft purchased and flown before that date must be registered before the February deadline.

The new rule applies to all U.S. citizens or legal residents 13 years of age or older. If the owner is younger than 13 years, an older person must register the unmanned aircraft on his or her behalf.

These rules also apply to children’s toys if they weigh more than 0.55 pounds. Most toys the FAA has identified at a purchase price of $100 or less, however, have been determined to weigh less than the minimum threshold, according to its website.

Registration is a relatively simple process if the craft is small.

Andrew Chronister prepares Tuesday a small drone for a flight. (Glenn Landberg)

An online form and a $5 payment will register an aircraft for personal use for three years.

“If you can place an order on Amazon, you can register your drone,” said Jack Mitchell, owner of Tailwinds R/C Hobby Center.

Those who fail to register could face regulatory and criminal sanctions. The FAA may assess civil penalties up to $27,500. Criminal penalties include fines of up to $250,000 and/or imprisonment for up to three years.

Drone use has become more popular in recent months. As Southeast Missouri dealt with a record-breaking flood in December, amateur drone operators took aerial images of the floodwaters. They also are used in the region for commercial purposes, such as checking crops for infestations or dehydration.

Local stores have reported strong sales of drones and other unmanned aircraft, many of which fall under the FAA’s new registration regulations. Drones are readily available at mall kiosks, and stores such as Best Buy, Target and Tradewinds carry them in all sizes and price ranges.

“We’ve been selling them, for sure,” said Travis Haberstroh, electronics salesman at Target, who said many of his sales are from small aircraft.

“I don’t sell a lot of the large drones, like the ones you see on TV. But I sell hobby drones, some with cameras, some with broadcast abilities,” Mitchell said.

Some local residents who are obligated to register are finding flaws in the FAA’s system.

Oral R. Friend, a local videographer and unmanned aircraft owner, sites privacy and security as his concerns with the new registration rules.

A filing by the Department of Transportation states all records, except the email addresses and credit-card information submitted during registry, will be publicly available.

This “has gotten a lot of users very upset, because people could search the database and find out all your information and the equipment you have,” Friend said.

The registration database currently is not searchable. When it becomes accessible, the FAA says it will allow only searches by registration number.

The matter of how an authority would know whether a unmanned aircraft system was bought before or after Dec. 21 is unclear, although after Feb. 19, this will not be a concern.

Friend also said the registry does not do anything to protect airspace. The registration number must be marked on the unmanned aircraft before it is flown, but no other method of identification need be affixed to the aircraft. If an unmanned aircraft flies beyond its restrictions and comes to close to a manned aircraft, the unmanned craft would not be identifiable by owner unless it was confiscated during flight or after a crash. The registration would not allow the FAA or flight specialists recognize the source of a potential threat as it approaches.

“The last thing any amateur pilot wants to do is get near anywhere that’s going to hurt someone. Because you’re doing it for fun, you don’t even want to take a chance of causing an accident. So I think the rule is there to do something, but the FAA hasn’t thought this through,” said Friend.

Videographer Andrew Chronister agrees the majority of people who use drones, especially those who do so professionally, do it with safety in mind. But he sees the validity in the FAA’s new registration.

“People need to have some accountability and need to know that, yeah, they’re toys, but they can be dangerous if someone uses them irresponsibly. They can cause problems for air traffic; there’s privacy issues of cameras mounted on drones,” Chronister said.

This raises the matter of enforcement. The FAA requests law enforcement to provide assistance through information-gathering, identification and notification. Other law-enforcement processes, such as arrest or non-consensual searches, almost always fall outside the allowable methods to pursue administrative enforcement actions by the FAA.

“The people to look out for is not the ones who do it for commercial purposes, but people who are young and mischievous, just like everybody else was when they were young,” Chronister said.

“Anybody can buy a drone online,” Mitchell said, whose concern is those with less honorable intentions will not register at all. “I don’t know if the drone police are going to be coming or not.”

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Drone flight restrictions

Responsible drone operators need to be aware of flight restrictions. For example, according to a news release, the National Park Service prohibits “use of unmanned aircraft (including drones) within the boundaries of the National Park Service sites.” In addition, all users of unmanned aircraft systems must follow these FAA guidelines when operating them.

• Fly below 400 feet.
• Avoid all manned aircraft.
• Keep the aircraft in sight at all times.
• Never fly within five miles of an airport without first contacting the airport and control tower before flying.
• Don’t fly near people or stadiums.
• Don’t use your unmanned aircraft recklessly — you could be fined for endangering people or other aircraft.

Source: Federal Aviation Administration