 |
| An unmanned aerial system capable of taking aerial photos. Photo: Wikipedia |
[Avionics Today 04-13-2015] The FAA is switching to a new “summary grant” process to issue quicker Section 333 Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) for commercial operators in an attempt to speed the regulatory process to accommodate the rapidly evolving technology.
Although the FAA will still review each Section 333 petition individually, the agency can now issue a summary grant when it finds it has already granted a previous exemption similar to the new request. Last week, the agency issued 30 Section 333 UAS exemptions under the new structure. The FAA believes summary grants are far more efficient because the agency will no longer need to repeat the analysis performed for the original exemption on which they are based. Summary grants are a tool the FAA can use in all exemption areas, not just UAS.