Amazon Obtains Certificate from FAA for Unmanned Flight Experiments

Today, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued an Experimental Airworthiness certificate to Amazon for their unmanned aircraft (UAS) experiments. Amazon will use the certificate to legally conduct tests and research and development for their unmanned aircraft. Before you start thinking that your next Amazon Prime delivery will be via drone, the FAA certificate is only for limited use and testing. Amazon must adhere to flying no more than 400 feet in the air and only during daylight hours. Also, the drone pilot and an observer must be able to see the aircraft in a line-of-sight fashion in clear weather.

The pilot even has to have a private pilots certificate from the FAA. The FAAs airworthiness certificate stipulates that Amazon generate monthly reports on how many flights it has taken, pilot duty time, any malfunctions or anomalies the vehicle encountered, as well as any unintended loss of control or communication.

This is apparently the first steps that you need to take to be in compliance with the FAA if you are thinking about operating or utilizing drones in your business. For more information on unmanned aircraft systems, please see the FAAs UAS homepage.