If you’re vacationing near the Jersey Shore and notice a swarm of drones overhead, don’t panic — it’s all part of a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) experiment. From April 14 to 25, the FAA is conducting a large-scale drone detection test near New Jersey’s Cape May Ferry Terminal, aiming to enhance airspace safety.
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To fly your drone over people you need a special waiver from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which you will only receive if you can, among other things, prove that your drone operation is safe for the people on the ground. What happens if a drone does come down from the skies? Or more specifically, what happens when a DJI Phantom or Mavic Pro crashes on your head? An 18-month-long study from the Alliance for System Safety of UAS through Research Excellence (ASSURE) has tried to answer this question.
Two days ago we wrote about an FAA-commissioned study that had been released by a team from the Alliance for System Safety of UAS through Research Excellence (ASSURE), that concluded that drones colliding with large manned aircraft will likely cause more structural damage than birds with the same weight for a given impact speed.
Chinese drone manufacturer, DJI responded to the ASSURE report, in which a DJI Phantom 3 was used, with a public statement to address some of the concerns.