The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has ruled the FAA’s drone registry is unlawful. The ruling was handed down Friday, May 19, 2017.
As of March 2017, more than 770,000 operators had registered with the FAA. Nearly all paid a $5 fee.
On Dec. 24, 2015, Maryland-based lawyer and model aircraft hobbyist John Taylor sued the FAA.
Taylor’s main argument against the FAA’s registration requirement was that the FAA is prohibited by Section 336 of the 2012 FAA Modernization and Reform Act from regulating model aircraft.
Writing for the court is Circuit Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh: “The 2012 FAA Modernization and Reform Act provides that the FAA ‘may not promulgate any rule or regulation regarding a model aircraft,’ yet the FAA’s 2015 Registration Rule is a ‘rule or regulation regarding a model aircraft.’ Statutory interpretation does not get much simpler. The Registration Rule is unlawful as applied to model aircraft.”
“We are carefully reviewing the U.S. Court of Appeals decision as it relates to drone registrations,” noted an FAA statement regarding the decision. “The FAA put registration and operational regulations in place to ensure that drones are operated in a way that is safe and does not pose security and privacy threats. We are in the process of considering our options and response to the decision.”
The Academy of Model Aeronautics government relations blog notes the May 19 ruling “is effective immediately. As such, if you have not registered with the FAA, you are no longer required under the law to do so.
“For those of you who have already registered with the FAA, you may be wondering what this means for you. We are currently working to obtain answers from the FAA and will share more information as it becomes available,” AMA officials said.
I love it when an idiot says drone flying is just good clean fun. Ya, tell that to the folks who lost their homes to fire because air drop operations were ceased because of the two “fun” loving zombies who flew their drones into mission airspace and the retardant/water drops had to be cancelled due to the danger they caused to the aircraft. Or yet another brainless who landed his drone on our local municipal runway and cited “I thought it was public so I’m allowed to fly there”. I watched our New Years fire works from a hotel room and saw a drone recording it at the same time hospital helicopters were flying in and out of the hospitals, very close at the same level. I didn’t think much of it as I thought it was an event drone. I thought it would be cool to see the video so I contacted them and they said it was someone’s unauthorized drone and that the Medivac folks had complained thinking it was an event drone in their airspace, ya, just good clean fun, what a joke. Hundreds of pilot reported sightings of drones within commercial airspace it is not a matter of if but when drones cause an incident or accident, my vote is take it seriously and figure it out. Folks say model airplanes have been around for years without much incident, true, but they were also historically harder to control, fly and much more expensive than the widely available inexpensive easy to control drones of today, along with the expensive heavier ones that anyone can buy and fly quite easily. I hope we find a happy medium that builds interest in aviation and doesn’t do the opposite of putting a black mark.
And how is registering your RC going to fix this?
About time this was overturned!
About time this was overturned!
I hold an ATP, ASMEL, CP SES, CFI ASMEI and A&P. The FAA knows who I nam. I do not have a drone but I registered myself when there was no charge.
When I read the regs all I have to do is put my name and airman number on as many as ten drones at one time.
Well I remember when the Fed taxed us owners per seat for Federal Use tax or what ever it was called back then 1970’s. Then that went away apparently due to the outcry of the private sector because the air lines didn’t have to spring for it back then. Next, was the ELT requirements 121.5 or 406.mhz. Safety is good, but I don’t remember the Fed helped us little guys pay for that required equipment either. Then the shoulder harness requirements that was OK but still mandated on all new production aircraft. Now we have we have ADS-B for our transponder equipment. Unless you have the full complement for ADS-B in and out you still don’t have much but the Feds do.
My issue with registration of any model type drone classification is that I can’t tell if ATC is talking to the drone operator sitting in his car, or if the drone is next to me at my altitude at night VFR or IFR. These drones should maybe have a numbering system but not with an “N” number thus throwing more confusion into the mix. “N” for standard aircraft and maybe consider “DR” for the commercial drone operators.
Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) are not registered with an “N” number, for the reasons you site. Also, the commercial “drone” operator, now a certificated Remote Pilot-in-command, is not talking to ATC and is prohibited from operating within Classes B, C and D, without a waive,r which must be a written request, and may take up to 90 days, if approved at all.
The FAA should be required to refund each of us the $5.00 fee.
I’m especially torqued because I beat the deadline to register without having to pay the fee. Guess what?The FAA never credited my bank account as it was supposed to after I followed its directions to the T.
I want my 5 bucks—-NOW. It’s the principle of the thing.
Hey Bradley…”anarchy,” really??? Spoken like a true bureaucrat. I literally laughed out loud when I I read that. Ok, this is all in good clean fun Brad, but come on. I think you told on yourself. Tell us now. At the very least, you’re a gov employee right?
Well that’s not good news. Anarchy isn’t the answer.
Fantastic! There are so many areas where the FAA is years – decades behind schedule and the FAA should focus on getting caught up before it starts spreading its tentacles any further.
Hear hear, well said Pete
AARRR Dilley Dilley!!! Put’em in chains, says I