U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthalis asking the Federal Aviation Administration to impose stricter regulations on drone users after a string of recent near misses with planes and helicopters. Consumer drones have also recently hindered the work of firefighters battling wildfires in the West.
The FAA recommends that consumer drones fly no higher than 400 feet, and no closer than five miles from an airport. But some drone hobbyists are either unaware of, or are flouting those recommendations. "There is a desperate need for rule of the road, because right now, our airspace is like the wild west," said Blumenthal.
According to the FAA, pilots have reported almost 700 close calls with drones this year alone, compared with 238 in all of 2014. And drone use is on the rise.
Amazon reportedly sells 10,000 drones every month. Officials are concerned that an unauthorized drone could hit a commercial aircraft and trigger a disaster. Last month, five drones flying over a wildfire in California caused aerial firefighting operations to be aborted. The fire jumped a highway minutes later, and scorched 20 cars.
That incident prompted California Senator Dianne Feinstein to introduce the The Consumer Drone Safety Act, which would require the FAA to impose stricter regulations on hobby drones.
"The FAA would have authority under this new law to establish rules of the road," said Blumenthal, who supports the measure, "restricting drones at certain heights, for example keeping them under 500 feet, certain speeds like less than 100 mph, certain times, in daylight, with certain technology." Technology like altitude restriction software and geo-fencing would keep drones from flying in restricted areas.
In the meantime, Blumenthal has sent a letter to the FAA's administrator Michael Huerta, asking the agency to immediately take "strong and swift enforcement steps" to curb rogue drone use.
