Letter to the Editor: Drone Regulations are "Day Late, Dollar Short"

Dear Editor:

Drone regulations are “a day late and a dollar short” as Congress is now putting pressure on the FAA to “close the barn door after the horses have bolted.”

On Nov. 4, drone lobbyist and Chairman of the House Subcommittee of Aviation Frank LoBiondo wrote to FAA Administrator Michael Huerta. In the letter, Mr. LoBiondo listed four issues as top priorities being imposed on the FAA regarding Drones.

A driving force for this new found safety concern is the more than 700,000 anticipated Drone Christmas gifts in a little more than onr month. An additional factor is this article in the National Insurance Journal.

This article reveals that the FAA now gets several reports a day of drones flying too close to planes and helicopters. The average number of drone incidents is now more than 40 per month. With the Christmas season rapidly approaching it is just a matter of time before even a small hobby store drone is sucked into an airplane engine, like a small bird, with catastrophic results.

In reviewing Mr. LoBiondo’s four priorities, regrettably they are unlikely to make American air space safer.

They focus on “streamlining “drone registration and on education of drone users but they do not speak to the need for stricter limits on drone operations that would more adequately address issues of drone safety.

Additionally privacy rights of ordinary citizens as well as their Constitutional protections are not mentioned.

Lastly no prohibition for weaponized drones (armed with missiles, guns, Tasers etc.) is even considered.

For these reasons I have great respect for Mayor Jay Gillian in trying to protect his community. If not for Mayor Gillian filling this regulatory void created by a Congress working for the drone manufacturers’ interests rather than the people’s, one can only shudder at the inevitable consequences.

The mayor needs the public’s support in order to pass the Drone Ban Ordinance this Thursday, Nov. 12 at 7 p.m. in the City Council Chambers. It is a great opportunity for members of the community to weigh in on this most important issue.

Sincerely yours,

Steven Fenichel, MD