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The Intelligent Aerospace take:
February 22, 2019-Kiernan, who chairs the master of science in unmanned systems program at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, who herself is a pilot of both manned and unmanned aircraft, explains how a collision between a drone and a passenger craft could result in tragedy.
While hobbyist UAS pilots should know the FAA rules for operating their aircraft, a recent study by Embry-Riddle observed Daytona International for a period of two weeks and noted that 7% of drone flights exceeded the FAA altitude limit of 400 feet, and 21% exceeded the recommended maximum altitude for the area in which they were operating. Also, 8 drones were detected within a mile of the center of the airport.
"For perspective, in that same time period, there were about 11,500 aircraft takeoffs or landings at that airport. By comparison, 8 drones isn’t much. On the other hand, that’s a lot of airplanes in the sky and a lot of potential conflicts," Kiernan said, and noted that "geofencing" restricted areas could help warn pilots that they are operating in off-limit areas, or possibly even prevent drones from flying there at all.
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Jamie Whitney, Associate Editor
Intelligent Aerospace
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