Phoenix Air Unmanned Obtains FAA Clearance to Conduct Drone Operations

Phoenix Air Unmanned has secured Federal Aviation Administration clearance to conduct aerial photography, surveys and powerline and pipeline inspections using SwissDrones SVO 50 V2 drones beyond visual line of sight. The company is allowed to fly such vehicles below 400 feet over certain roads and below pre-planned flight paths over sparsely populated areas, the FAA said.

The news comes after the agency asked for public comments in May on authorization requests by Phoenix Air Unmanned, uAvionix, UPS Flight Forward and Zipline. Decisions on the other three requests are still pending.

The FAA plans to craft policies informed by data from the companies’ flight operations. David Boulter, the agency’s acting associate administrator for aviation safety, said in the request for comment that the regulations would address drone technology advancements and safe unmanned aerial system BVLOS operations.

The FAA aims to integrate drones into the National Airspace System instead of carving out exclusive zones.

Iridium Communications recently conducted a flight trial demonstrating UAS integration into the NAS with a simpler minimum equipment list. The company used its findings to recommend a streamlined FAA BVLOS waiver process.