The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) continues to grapple with how to allow pilots to fly unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) beyond visual line of sight and over other people, the head of the agency said March 27.

The FAA finalized a rule last year to allow commercial users to fly small UAS under certain conditions. It also launched a registration website for recreational users in late 2015. But those measures were among the “easy stuff” that must be done to safely integrate drones into the national airspace, FAA Administrator Michael Huerta said at the UAS Symposium in Reston, Va.

FAA Administrator Michael Huerta. Photo: FAA
FAA Administrator Michael Huerta. Photo: FAA

To allow flights over people, for example, the FAA must determine what happens when a drone fails in the air, and how to ensure unmanned aircraft do not eavesdrop on sensitive sites.

“As we move toward fully integrating unmanned aircraft into our airspace, the questions we need to answer are only getting more complicated,” Huerta said.

In the coming weeks, the FAA plans to convene a gathering of industry and national security leaders to discuss such safety issues.

“We hope to create a mutual understanding about the government’s security concerns, and discuss how we can collaborate to address them,” Huerta told the symposium audience. “Look for more details on this in the near future.”

The agency is also launching an aviation rulemaking committee to help create standards for remotely identifying and tracking in-flight drones. “This is one of the law enforcement community’s top concerns, and we hope the recommendations we receive will pave the way for expanded drone operations over people and beyond visual line of sight,” he said.