Summary of Operation and Certification of Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Final Rules
On June 21, 2016, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) released its highly anticipated regulations for the operation and certification of small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). These new rules apply to operation and certification of small UAS—those weighing less than 55 pounds—for non-hobby and non-recreational purposes (for example, commercial purposes, research and development, and educational or academic uses), although public operators may opt to operate under the new rules. The final rules will become effective 60 days after publication in the Federal Register. These rules finalize the requirements the FAA proposed in its February 2015 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.
This rule will add a new part 107 to Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (14 C.F.R.) to allow for routine civil operation of small UAS in the national airspace (NAS) and provide safety rules for such operations. The major points of the new part 107 rules are discussed in the full summary, which is available here.
