Hobbyists’ path to drones gets easier as court rebuffs FAA

Camera drone flying at a park. (Dreamstime/TNS)

The US government’s authority to oversee burgeoning recreational drone use was dealt a setback when a federal appeals court barred the Federal Aviation Administration from forcing hobbyists to register the millions of unmanned aircraft taking flight. 

While the May 19 decision by the US Court of Appeals in Washington left intact FAA guidance on where recreational drones may fly, the ruling undercuts one of the agency’s primary means of ensuring that unmanned aircraft are operated safely. Some 759,000 hobbyists have signed up since the FAA regulation was enacted in 2015. The agency estimates that 2.3 million drones will be sold this year for recreational use, plus 2.5 million for commercial operations.