Drones, the FAA and Transport Canada’s approaches to a new unfolding technology

On November 15, the company said it was donating a “civil drone” and one of its drone specialists to help humanitarian groups assess the damage in Tacloban. Since the equipment arrived on November17, it has been used to assess debris fields, pinpoint blocked roads and to help locate bodies for retrieval. Danoffice IT sales manager Liam Dawson describes the experience, “When organizations first saw it here, they thought it was a bit of a toy. But when they realized all the different uses you could do like body retrieval, road clearance, you name it, I think this is a tool that will be used in every future disaster,”

Although it is great that Amazon is offering to provide faster delivery of packages, there is always the issue of privacy. It seems both the US and Canada are concerned about the privacy issues regarding the use of drones. Roxanne Marchand explains, “Canada and the United States are also seeking greater alignment in their regulatory approaches. UAV program experience discussions have included airspace integration issues; aircraft certification strategies; operator certificates requirements, privacy issues related to UAVs, Arctic UAV activities, first responder use of UAV Systems and personnel licensing requirements.” Transport Canada and the FAA continue to have meetings on progress in relation to UAVs and areas for cooperation and agreement.
Transport Canada is also in the process of updating guidance material, which is expected to be published in 2014, to expedite the process of issuing Special Flight Operations Certificates (SFOC).

In the US, Ohio Congressman Rex Damschroder is concerned about the risk of law enforcement agencies using drones to spy on civilians without legal permission. Currently, police cannot come into your house without a search warrant explains Damschroder. “With drones however, they can fly right over your backyard and take pictures. “
Currently, Damschroder is one of several U.S. legislators to propose bills concerning UAVs. His “proposed bill” would prevent law enforcement agencies from using drones to get evidence or other information without a search warrant.
Here in Canada, there is some protection in place already, as Marchand explains, “the use of UAVs are permitted for commercial operations under the Canadian Aviation Regulations (CARs) when operating in Canadian airspace. Currently the CARs require anyone, including commercial organizations, conducting UAV operations to obtain and comply with the provisions of a SFOC. Applications for SFOCs are dealt with on a case-by-case basis. An individual assessment of the associated risks is conducted for each operation before a certificate is issued. An SFOC can only be issued once a requestor demonstrates that the risks associated with the operation of the UAV will be managed to an acceptable level. It is essential that the certificate holder be aware of the responsibility to ensure that the UAV operation is conducted in such a way that the safety of persons and property on the ground and other airspace users is not jeopardized.”

Canada’s office of the Privacy Commissioner has raised the issue of drones being used for domestic spying by hobbyists. SFOCs are mainly used to ensure the safety of the flight rather than protecting the privacy of citizens. A small camera can be easily mounted onto a model aircraft. The commissioner is mainly concerned that, “the model aircraft can be virtually indistinguishable from other small UAVs.”

There are times when UAVs, if not used properly, may cause more harm than good. It is important to note that in accordance with the Aeronautics Act, Transport Canada is only responsible for the conduct of civil UAV operations. The Department of National Defence is responsible for the conduct of all military aircraft operations, including military UAVs, regardless of the airspace in which they are operated.