Under the leadership of Chairman Brian Krzanich, CEO of Intel Corporation, and Victoria Wassmer, FAA Acting Deputy Administrator and Designated Federal Official, the Drone Advisory Committee (DAC) made significant progress in its recent meeting towards completing its recommendations on priority actions supporting integration of UAS into the National Airspace System (NAS). FAA Administrator Michael Huerta attended the meeting offering important perspectives on UAS integration into the national airspace.

The DAC has been tasked by the FAA to provide recommendations this year on (1) the relative roles and responsibilities of local, state and federal government in regulations and enforcement of drones, (2) achieving access to the airspace for drones, and (3) funding the integration of drones into the airspace.

The Committee received an interim report task group leaders, providing an advanced look at five draft recommendations on defining a waiver-free path for Drone Access to Airspace. In addition, the leaders of the Task Group addressing the respective Roles and Responsibilities for UAS regulations of local, state and federal government, reported on their progress. The TG received important feedback from DAC, led by member, San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, as well as FAA Administrator Michael Huerta, as this group engages with representatives from the many local, state and federal stakeholders who are eager to assist with finding common ground on this issue. Final recommendations on the three FAA tasking are expected to be delivered at the July and November meetings of the DAC.

The DAC is also developing recommendations on who (government, industry or a combination government/industry) should be responsible for activities and services necessary to support the safe integration of UAS into the NAS, including what funding levels and activities are the highest priority. They are also exploring what funding mechanisms should be used and how these mechanisms will be implemented in the near term with clear evolution paths.

FAA officials, led by Acting Deputy Administrator Designated Federal Official Victoria Wassmer and Director of UAS Integration Office Earl Lawrence, updated the DAC on the FAA efforts to use the evolving regulatory framework to integrate UAS into the NAS. This FAA scorecard is updated at each DAC meeting so the DAC is aware of the current state of UAS Integration.

More than 120 members of the public attended the meeting hosted by the Air Line Pilots Association in Herndon, VA.

More information can be found on the Drone Advisory Committee page.