Hogan Lovells partner selected as lead of FAA drone working group

Hogan Lovells partner selected as lead of FAA drone working group

Lisa Ellman named to lead a working group in the Federal Aviation Administration's Aviation Rulemaking Committee

Global law firm Hogan Lovells' partner Lisa Ellman, who serves as the executive director of the Commercial Drone Alliance, has been named to represent the industry in a key US Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) committee.

The newly formed Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC) has been tasked to develop the regulatory roadmap for Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BCLOS) operations.

The stated objective of the Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) BVLOS ARC is to provide recommendations to the FAA for performance-based regulatory requirements to normalize safe, scalable, economically viable and environmentally advantageous BVLOS UAS operations in the national airspace system (NAS).

The ARC includes selected members representing various aviation stakeholder groups, including stakeholders in academia, infrastructure security, privacy, state, local, tribal and territorial governance; technology and network infrastructure; traditional aviation associations; UAS associations; UAS manufacturing; and UAS operations.

The ARC has been tasked to recommend requirements for a performance-based regulatory framework for BVLOS operations that would apply to several important use-cases, including long-line linear infrastructure inspections, industrial aerial data gathering, small package delivery, and precision agriculture operations.

"We currently have nearly 900,000 registered drones, and we're forecasting more than two million commercial and recreational drones flying in the National Airspace System by 2024," FAA Administrator Steve Dickson said. "If you fly a drone that requires registration, meaning it weighs more than 0.55 pounds, then you are required to fully comply with the rule by September 16, 2023."

Dickson added that the government, industry and the public have a role to play while FAA develops consensus standards and a comprehensive risk picture of how and where AAM will operate.

The committee has been asked to give its report within six months.