Philadelphia Drone Use Creates Problems

Drones are pretty hot right now. It’s likely that you or someone you know ones one – they were, in fact, one of the past holiday season’s hottest-selling toys. The problem is that drone use is creating some very un-fun problems for Philadelphia, and current legislation lacks the capacity to deal with them.

Drones are gaining in popularity, but their use is creating problems in Philadelphia and elsewhere.

The Daily Pennsylvanian reported an incident in June during which an Air Force KC-10 flying over the outskirts of Philadelphia was compelled to take evasive action due to a football-sized drone that passed within ten feet of its wing. According to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) report that was released in December, pilot interactions with drones increased sharply in the last seven months – from 238 to 740.

The city government of Philadelphia has considered taking steps to get the drone issue under control, despite embracing drone use itself. In December Philadelphia Controller Alan Butkovitz announced that his office had used a drone to get aerial footage of distressed properties for the Department of Licenses and Inspections. At Penn, faculty and students have been on the forefront of creating autonomous flying vehicles to survey landscapes for natural disasters and other use.

On the national level, the FAA has so far not been very restrictive on drone rules and regulations. Right now the only requirements for drone usage are that they “fly below 400 feet, stay five miles away from airports, avoid flying near people or stadiums and that the aircraft not weigh more than 55 pounds.” The FAA discourages city and state governments from imposing their own restrictions, as it complicates the FAA’s ability to “[control] the airspace and flight patterns, and [ensure] safety.”