William Walsh, co-chair of the Aviation Industry Team, authors this article in Business Insurance. He discusses the significant tension between the Federal Aviation Administration regulation for commercial drones and any conceivable economic model of a profitable retail drone delivery operation.
Ultimately, full automation may be required to realize that dream, which is a reality at odds with the current regulatory requirement of having a pilot in command of a drone. Efforts to achieve regulatory changes will draw the FAA’s priority of aviation safety into some level of compromise with the financial priorities of commercial retail drone operators — a balance that could create significant risks for retail drone operators if those compromises go too far.
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