Unmanned aircraft threaten civil aviation

The US government is considering a series of policies related to the management of unmanned aircraft (UAV) amid growing incidents of collisions between UAVs and large aircraft.

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According to Forbes, the coming weeks will be the most important time for the UAV industry. New rules for commercial UAVs may require the UAV owner to have a license to operate and the device can only operate during the day, fly below 400 feet (122m) and within sight of the person control.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the UAV industry has been expecting laws for this device for the past six years, hoping that the law will pave the way for widespread use of UAVs in industries such as agriculture, film making and construction.

Currently the policy of the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) allows the use of UAVs for recreational purposes, but is nearly banned for commercial use.

New danger for aviation

FAA data released today showed that the UAV is revealing bigger dangers than people once thought about air traffic. In the past six months, pilots across the United States have reported numerous incidents of near-collision and face the danger between UAVs and civilian aircraft, the number of cases is on the rise.

Since June 1, so far, airlines, pilots and air traffic controllers have reported to FAA 25 cases of small UAVs, which are only a few seconds away or a few meters away from crashing into large planes.

Many cases of near-collision occurred during aircraft taking off or landing at America's busiest airports.

Small drones are increasingly easy to buy, but also a threat to air traffic in the United States - (Photo: Reuters)

Notably, the September 30 incident, when air traffic controllers at LaGuardia Airport (New York) announced Republic Airlines flight 6230 almost collided with a small UAV at 4,000 feet. (1,220m) when this civilian plane is dropping altitude to land.

Also at LaGuardia on September 8, three airlines, Express Jet, Pinnacle and Chautauqua, all reported near-collisions with a UAV at 2,000 feet when they were landing. The near-collision cases are only a few minutes apart. A number of other incidents also occurred near Washington.

This situation has caused a new threat to US air safety after decades of unstable development of road traffic.

Need to have a UAV management law soon

The report of near-collision between UAV and large aircraft is given in the context of FAA facing pressure from MPs and UAV manufacturing companies in quickly opening the sky for equipment this.

Under FAA current regulations, small UAVs are only allowed to fly under 400 feet and are five miles (8km) away from major airports or airspace areas. In 2012, the US Congress asked the FAA to open doors for UAVs to fly safely in the country's airspace, but the process of setting up regulations was slow and could take several years.

UAV businesses and producers criticize FAA for the slow pace of new technology management, saying the absence of clear regulations has contributed to the negligence of UAV enthusiasts but has not been trained. .

Over the past three years, the FAA has struggled to manage thousands of small UAVs sold in the United States. The FAA also lacks the manpower to keep an eye on the UAV at airports, with only a few cases being arrested nationwide. The rapid development of technology has made small UAVs easier to buy with many models that cost less than $ 500.

However, Wall Street Journal quoted experts as saying that while the FAA wants to open the sky to the UAV, the regulations will give more restrictions than what the UAV supporters expect and will not solve. privacy concerns when using this device.

It is expected that by the end of this year, the FAA will make a draft regulation to consult people and it may take two years before the agency makes the final regulations.

UAV likes to fly near the airport

According to the Washington Post, the recent 25 near-collision cases were among more than 175 incidents where pilots and air traffic controllers detected UAVs appearing near the airport or flying into the airspace from June until now.

The pilots describe most of the UAVs they face as small, with cameras. This is the type of UAV that is becoming popular for these aircraft lovers and photographers.

Although these UAVs are small and light, aviation safety experts say the device could cause an accident when hitting an airplane propeller or being stuck in a jet engine.