Town of Paradise Valley,
AZ—Some of this small but wealthy community’s politicians bought into the
baseless idea that multi-rotor camera drones were a threat to safety and
privacy.
Ignorance and the novelty of
the drones themselves motivated politicians here to make an effort to ban
drones. They thought that their residents would somehow appreciate their
efforts.
Things backfired when local relators
complained that the use of drones showcased the homes and community like never
before. Banning or over-regulating them
could damage property values and of course property tax collections.
The Town Council considered
the ban but cooler heads in that body tabled the idea at least until they had
more valid guidance and information. How
they revisit this issue remains to be seen.
As for the somewhat popular
Drone Invasion, there were no less than 700 reports of near misses with
conventional aircraft investigated by the FAA.
Not a single collision,
photo, or video has surfaced in those reports.
Were these bogus reports by people seeking attention? Were they reports by some pilots seeking to
protect their jobs by slowing down the proliferation of drones that will take
their jobs?
I can’t guess what was real
or fraudulent in the much-publicized world of drones and their detractors. What we do know is their are zero fatalities,
serious injuries or significant property damage. Certainly there’s not a singe collision with
other aircraft.
There are well over two
million of these marvelous machines in the hands of teens and adults that are
gathering spectacular images for creative endeavors, journalism and marketing.
The privacy invasion and
safety fears have not been realized in any way, shape or form beyond
unsubstantiated reports that have been given far too much ink.
I fully expect as the bogus
reports begin to die down the FAA will take credit for their educational
efforts for the decline in those rogue sightings.
The fact is there must come a
point in time when the hysteria must die without some tangible evidence.
It’s interesting to note that
all FAA regulations for conventional aircraft were actually written in
blood! Yes, actual deaths and serious
crashes were behind each and every rule.
When it came to the drones
the FAA radically changed direction to enacting prior restraint guidelines and
criminalized private enterprise. This
was un-American and violates the civil rights of those wishing to operate their
drones.
Despite the threats of enforcement
and state and local efforts to police our drones, what’s lacking is a
legitimate demonstration of any misbehavior by drone operators.
The few attempts at
prosecution have fallen flat from a lack of evidence. The videos and telemetry data contained on
the drones themselves have vindicated the operators.
It’s time to move forward
with this exciting new technology.
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