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| This is an Align quadcopter with a Panasonic GH4 4K motion picture camera perfect for electronic news gathering assignments. |
Atlanta, GA—All Federal
Aviation Administration regulations were and are conceived and written in
blood, literally! That is, that there is
a deadly aircraft accident behind every rule. That has always been the case except when it
came to drones.
We all must take safety
seriously and any legitimate concern deserves study and respect. The drones are somewhat expensive and their owners simply don’t want them damaged through recklessness.
For some strange bureaucratic reason
the FAA has outlawed the use of a drone to make money. As un-American as that seems, they’ve gotten
away with this form of economic tyranny.
The FAA has always allowed
the use of drones for recreation and hobby activities with scant few restrictions. Rather than make rules just last month
they’ve finally issued a few advisory Dos and Don’ts for those drone operators
using devices that weigh less than 55 pounds.
There are now well over a
million little multi-rotor camera drones in the hands of Americans. Still
there’s still never been a reported fatal, serious injury or property damage
accident with a multi-rotor drone. There
is still no blood evidence available for any traditional FAA rule making.
The FAA like all government
agencies wants to build their kingdom and expand their power and jurisdiction
whenever possible. Drones are the
perfect excuse to give us much more government we don’t need.
TV news organizations have
been buying drone video footage from freelancers willing to assume the risk of
doing battle with the FAA.
Lost somewhere in this
shuffle are any concerns about our First Amendment rights to capture images
with cameras. Many news organizations
have already acquired drones and have been using them clandestinely or at least
experimenting with them.
One drone use application has
suddenly been granted with an exciting
and groundbreaking agreement between the FAA and CNN allowing for the use of
various drones in their news operation.
The obvious safety concerns
for drone newsgathering are related to flying over the heads of
people and their property. Are drones a safety threat?
Statistically the answer is a resounding no!
Chicken Little, is a folk
tale with a moral in the form of a cumulative tale about a chicken who believes
the world is coming to an end. The phrase "The sky is falling!"
features prominently in the story, and has passed into the English language as
a common idiom indicating a hysterical or mistaken belief that disaster is
imminent. Versions of the story go back more than 25 centuries; it continues to
be referenced in a variety of media.
Thankfully Chicken Little’s prediction has not yet been realized.
Rather than making rules
based on real blood, when it comes to drones the FAA has taken the Chicken
Little route.
Common sense for drone
operators would dictate that avoiding close contact with people or delicate
property is necessary. Rather than fly
directly over crowds photographing the action from a 45-degree angle is safe,
reasonable and will provide superior video or still images.
A multi-rotor drone operator
would be foolish to begin flying in an urban setting or areas where there are
too many trees. Learning the ropes in a
wide-open field until reasonable control skills are acquired is a must.
We all know about those epic
and deadly news, rescue, military and police helicopter crashes. There is no question that drones are much
safer than helicopters. Should there be
a camera drone mishap in an urban area the likelihood tragedy or property damage is
nearly zero!
I’m convinced that there will
never be a notable accident with a drone being used for newsgathering. There will be some mishaps that will damage
the drones but the public and their homes will remain unharmed.
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