In the US, the number of registered drones exceeded the number of conventional aircraft
In civil aviation, a turning point has come - the US federal government has registered more unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) than manned ones. More than 325,000 people registered their drones in the new UAV registration system, said Michael Huert, an employee of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), at the InterDrone conference in Washington. 320 thousand manned aircraft were registered in the FAA, fortune.com reports.
In early January, a few weeks after the start of registration (December 21, 2015), only 181 thousand UAVs were registered in the FAA system. This shows that many people want to have time to register their drones before February 19, since from February 19, for an unregistered UAV, a fine of$ 27.5 thousand , as well as criminal liability up to three years in prison.
The Federal Aviation Administration claims that this system is aimed at combating the illegal use of drones and suppressing incidents involving UAVs. So, for example, in September, the drone made an emergency landing on the playing field during the US Open tennis championship. It is possible that the registration procedure and a contribution of $ 5 will be able to deter people from buying a drone.
Huerta said the FAA opened 24 cases against drone owners who, through their actions, endangered others or their property. “We will not hesitate to take decisive action against anyone who, when driving a drone, will endanger other people or their property, or use UAVs for purposes prohibited by law,” Huerta said.
Last week, New Jersey law enforcement officers arrested a man who crashed his drone against the Empire State Building. Apparently, the man wanted to take a photo and lost control of the drone. He is accused of creating a threat to property and hooliganism.