AUVSI Xponential

Remarks As Delivered

Good morning. It’s a pleasure to be joining you this morning here in the great city of Dallas. You know, I was looking back and thinking about the many years I’ve been attending this gathering. This is actually my fourth visit to AUVSI. Now it’s called Xponential, and it’s amazing how much has changed just in that short period of time.

I am starting to feel a little bit like that uncle, the one who shows up every Thanksgiving, talks about some of the same things over and over, talks about some stuff that is new.

But, the good news is this, the good news is that the story on unmanned aircraft is a story that bears a lot of repeating. It’s a story about collaboration, it’s a story about innovation, and I think most importantly, it’s a story of a shared commitment to safety.

I sincerely hope that when my term as FAA Administrator ends in January, that the word-cloud of my most-used terms will include those words: collaboration, innovation and safety.

I’ve begun to look at these gatherings here at Xponential as a microcosm, a microcosm of the world of all things unmanned aircraft.  I was able to walk around the convention hall yesterday and I visited with a number of you, and the types of aircraft that we’re all seeing, and the capabilities that they possess, it’s nothing short of amazing.

Each and every year, there are new players, and these new players emerge with innovative new uses for unmanned aircraft. While the–I won’t say the old players, I’ll say the more established players – add additional sophistication to what are incredibly popular products.

A few weeks ago, the FAA held what has become its annual Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Symposium.

We had 84 speakers and 22 different discussions. We held the first ever FAA Twitter Chat in conjunction with that event, and people engaged with our content online thousands and thousands of times.

More than 700 attendees from government, from academia, law enforcement, and the aviation and technology industries participated there in person.

Afterwards, I did an interview with someone, and I was asked what it felt like to be present at the birth of a whole new sector of aviation, a whole new industry.

I guess it’s human nature – I certainly didn’t think of that way, until the question came up – I guess it’s human nature to become so focused on the incremental stuff that we are doing day-to-day, that we forget to take stock of how far we’ve actually come in a very short period of time.

But it’s true: In just a few short years, the unmanned aircraft community has evolved into a vibrant industry. It’s an incubator for ideas that are changing the way the world thinks about flying.

It wasn’t that long ago that we were talking about how drones might be used for aerial photography or package delivery.

Now, we’re having very intense and very real conversations about a day in the not-that-distant future when a drone taxi might lift you above the rush-hour traffic in a dense metropolitan area and make sure you get to that meeting across town on time.

Now, clearly there’s a lot to be done between here and there. But it’s a “there” that has only come on to the horizon recently.

This pace of this development is something that we talk about a lot. It’s something that inspires a great deal of awe. In the traditional aircraft industry, new jetliners are introduced maybe once every 10 or 15 years. In the world of unmanned aircraft, 10 or 15 new products might be introduced every year.

It has been, certainly, a great honor to be the FAA Administrator during this whirlwind of imagination and progress.

I am thrilled that my colleagues at the FAA have embraced a new way of thinking about how the government should respond to an industry that doesn’t know how to slow down.

We’ve learned to move quicker than ever to identify and develop regulations that ensure safety without unduly stifling the economic potential.

Before joining the FAA in 2010, I was the president of a major division of a Fortune 500 company with experience inA fielding large technology and infrastructure platforms. So I understand the desire to move as quickly as we possibly can.

As you might imagine, I’ve had more than a few conversations with people who are frustrated that we aren’t moving faster. But, I’ve also talked to many who would like us to tap the brakes just a bit.

But, the good news is that we continue to make a lot of progress. But, the unprecedented rate at which unmanned aircraft are evolving means we have to grapple with new and complex questions that affect a broad spectrum of the many stakeholders that we have in this industry.

This is particularly apparent as we consider the roles of government, the roles of federal government, state and local governments, and how they should play in this space. How do we ensure that unmanned aircraft operations can occur with a minimum amount of disruption and interference, particularly when we are moving into densely populated areas?

In 2015, we issued some preliminary guidance, but it’s an issue that is getting a lot of attention from state legislatures and in city councils all across the country.

This subject was a major focus last week during a meeting of our Drone Advisory Committee.

Now, as FAA Administrator, I have a very clear sense of what the existing FAA authorities are, and our processes to ensure their compliance and to enforce the rules.

But I think you would all agree we need greater clarity as to what state and local governments would like to see, and the role that they would like to play.

It’s an important question, and I think it’s extremely important that we as a community get that right.

Now, we have a few ideas on a way to approach the subject. The Drone Advisory Committee is doing great work in this area, and I hope in the near future to be able to talk about a concept that we’re working with, about how we might learn more, that will enable us to answer this question.

But, this work on roles and responsibilities is only one of several key areas we’re looking at. For example, we are continuing our work on a rule for operations over people. I know that’s something of great interest to everyone in the room here.

The FAA’s Center of Excellence recently completed the first in a series of research projects looking at the potential safety ramifications of what might happen when a drone hits a person on the ground.

Although we can’t yet definitively answer every question, we are starting to understand the risks a little better.

The findings of this study are incredibly helpful. They help us as we continue to develop standards that ensure the level of safety that the public expects and deserves as drones become more ubiquitous in our daily lives.

The next phase of research is set to begin next month. It will verify the results of the most recent study, as well as develop tests that manufacturers can use to certify their aircraft for flights over people.

Later this summer, we expect to release the results of another study that looks at that question that we’ve seen in the news a lot, what happens if an unmanned aircraft collides with an aircraft.

The FAA is also collaborating with law enforcement and the military to examine security concerns, particularly security concerns that they have raised in the world of unmanned aircraft.

In late April, the FAA and our partners completed the fifth and final field evaluation of possible drone detection systems just down the road at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.

This most recent evaluation used a combination of technologies, including radar, radio frequency and electro-optical systems.

We plan to use the information we’ve received from this test, the test in Denver, and elsewhere, and other information, to develop minimum performance standards for any unmanned aircraft detection technology that might be deployed around airports here in the United States.

We also announced that we are setting up a new Aviation Rulemaking Committee that will help us create standards for remotely identifying and tracking unmanned aircraft during operations.

I know there’s a lot of interest in this group, and it will be made up of a diverse group of stakeholders, and we hope the recommendations they produce will help pave the way in answering these questions about flights over people, beyond visual line of sight, and all of those things that are so important.

Later this month, we’ll also be hosting an Unmanned Aircraft Security roundtable with senior transportation and national security leaders and representatives from the drone industry.

This forum will give us an opportunity to create a mutual understanding about the government’s security concerns, and to discuss how we can collaborate with industry to address them.

There is no question in my mind that the significant milestones we have achieved so far are because stakeholders from across government and industry have come together. They have come together to focus their energy on solving some of our most important challenges.

A few minutes ago, I mentioned the Drone Advisory Committee.  I’d particularly like to thank Brian Krzanich, the CEO of Intel Corporation. As you know, Brian has accepted our invitation to serve as the chair for the Drone Advisory Committee, and with his expertise in Silicon Valley, Brian’s guidance and expertise have been absolutely indispensable to us.

I’m also grateful to a number of other people from across the aviation industry, drone industry, people who have agreed to help us as part of our DAC Subcommittee and our Task Groups. Many of those members are here today, and I’d like to thank them for their commitment and for their leadership in working collaboratively to address these issues.

It seems like only yesterday that we were scrambling to develop the UAS registry in anticipation of what indeed was a boom in the sales of consumer drones.

Today, more than 820,000 operators have registered their aircraft. More than 745,000 of those are hobbyists, leaving 60,000 or so that are commercial operators of unmanned aircraft.

We have issued more than 43,000 Remote Pilot Certificates under Part 107, in the short time that it’s been in effect.

At the same time, we are taking steps to make it easier and faster when it comes to processing requests for Part 107 authorizations and waivers for those of you who are seeking to capitalize on new business opportunities.

Last month, we published more than 200 facility maps to help streamline authorizations in the airspace around some of our busiest airports.

These maps are an important next step in order for the industry and the FAA to work together to automate what has so-far been a rather labor intensive and sometimes frustrating process.

These maps help drone operators improve the quality of the information in their Part 107 airspace authorization requests and they help the FAA to process them more quickly.

Now, to be clear, the maps are informational and do not give people permission to fly drones. You still need to submit an online airspace authorization application.

But for the first time, your request benefits from detailed grid maps that depict the distances above ground level that drones can safely fly.

In the critical areas around airports and hospital heliports, these maps help us with the needed data to conduct the safety analysis that must occur before flights can be approved. So, we’re shrinking the time to approve, and we will shrink it further.

I have mentioned the word “safety” several times in the last few minutes. And I think as FAA Administrator, it’s something that I talk about a lot, probably a couple of hundred times a day.

But, I’m happy to see that both the industry and individual operators have joined us in embracing a culture of safety around unmanned aircraft.

The vast majority of you recognize that, even though you might be standing on the ground, you are, in fact, aviators.

You have embraced the responsibility of operating in an environment that can be unforgiving of mistakes or reckless behavior.

Nevertheless, we do continue to receive reports on a daily basis from pilots who encountered drones in places where they should not be, sometimes at altitudes well above 400 feet.

In fact, not long ago, the pilot of a jetliner preparing to land right here at Dallas/Fort Worth reported encountering a drone at 10,000 feet just west of downtown Dallas.

The FAA is spreading the safety message. We continue to make updates to our B4UFLY smartphone app, which was created to let people know where it’s safe and where it’s legal to fly. That app has been downloaded some 220,000 times.

But all you have to do is go to YouTube and search for “night drone flight” or “drone footage,” put in any city, you’ll find dozens of videos that still reflect a sobering lack of understanding of guidelines and of basic safety regulations.

So far, we’ve been fortunate that none of these incidents has resulted in an injury or a collision with a manned aircraft.

But safety shouldn’t rely on luck. Safety needs to be intentional.

I am grateful that the members of the Unmanned Aircraft Safety Team have accepted the challenge of finding effective ways of promoting safety throughout this industry.

Now, I doubt that many people will disagree that education is an important part of the safety equation.

But, I firmly believe that the answers to many of this industry’s remaining challenges lie in the one trait that has defined it since the beginning: Your ingenuity.

Throughout our system – particularly in the last 30 years or so – the real advancements in safety have come through technology.

Wind shear detection is now available in the flight deck of every modern jetliner, as are collision-avoidance systems.

We have incredibly sophisticated radar systems that harness GPS databases to predict a plane’s flight path and to warn the pilot if the flight is descending toward terrain.

As a result, aviation is safer than it has ever been. And, new technologies continue to drive the risk out of the system on a daily basis.

I’d argue the same will eventually be true of commercially available unmanned aircraft.

Someday, one of you will invent an unmanned aircraft that will be incapable of colliding with anything, whether it’s a tree, a building, a person, or an aircraft moving at several hundred miles an hour.

This aircraft will know exactly how fast – and how high – it can go, no matter where the operator might want to fly it.

At the same time, it will broadcast its position to air traffic controllers and perhaps other operators, lending situational awareness that could clear the way for even more diverse operations.

How far away is that? Some might speculate we might be several years away. Some speculate, and I think we can just as easily say, it might be a lot less than that.

But if there’s one thing aviation has taught us, it’s that innovation has a way of compressing time.

In the meantime, our job is to capitalize on each incremental step, making sure that we build a framework of performance-based regulations that can easily accommodate change.

From its earliest beginnings, aviation has attracted a potent combination of dreamers and doers. And monumental achievements can occur in the space of one person’s lifetime.

Orville Wright, whose first flight at Kitty Hawk reached a breathtaking speed of 10 mph across the ground, lived to see Chuck Yeager break the sound barrier and usher in a new age in aviation.

In 1927, Charles Lindbergh proved it was possible to fly all the way from New York to Paris without stopping.

Forty-two years later, Charles Lindbergh was a guest at Cape Canaveral when Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins climbed atop a Saturn V rocket and set out for the moon.

Innovation does, indeed, have a way of compressing time.

As I was walking through the convention hall yesterday, I recalled my childhood in Southern California.

Back then, I had a toy aircraft, and it was tethered to a control yoke, I stood in the center, and watched it fly around me, tethered there, while I moved it up and down.

I thought it was pretty amazing.

Today, the technology exists to allow us to make our own giant leaps. The descendants of these model aircraft are now poised to make the world a better place.

The only limitation seems to one thing: How quickly we – all of us, across the industry – can make it happen, safely.

I know that this industry will continue to rise to that challenge.

I thank you for what you’re doing each and every day to harness innovation and to make this a great and safe place to fly.

Have a great conference.

Unmanned Aircraft Systems Symposium Opening Remarks

Remarks as prepared for delivery

Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for joining us as we kick off the second annual UAS Symposium. It’s great to have so many of you here today, and from so many different industries and areas of expertise.

America is rightly considered the gold standard in aviation, and there’s a simple reason for it: we don’t compete when it comes to safety.

There’s often a combative relationship between government and the industry it regulates. But not here.

For the FAA, the airlines and manufacturers, the pilots and passengers…Safety is our common goal, our shared principle, and our north star.

It’s not just good business – it’s the only business.

When you look at every important issue the FAA has tackled over the years – from decreasing the risk of commercial aviation crashes to modernizing our air traffic control system – our success has always depended on our close partnership with industry.

By working together, we’ve achieved more – faster – than we ever could on our own.

Now, we’re ushering in a new age of American aviation: the unmanned aircraft era. And it’s moving at a quicker pace than anything we’ve seen before.

Back in January, I attended CES in Las Vegas for the second time. And I was struck, not only by the creativity on display, but by how much had changed since my last visit.

If you can dream it, drone manufacturers are building it. Some of the latest models can sense and avoid obstacles in their paths. Others can fit in your pocket, or be used under water. A few have even automated the “selfie” game.

I understand that Helicopter Association International has even started a special drone membership.

Many in that industry have even begun looking at ways that drones can augment the tasks they do with helicopters, particularly in cases where drones can accomplish a task without putting human lives at risk.

Innovations throughout the small unmanned aircraft community have captured people’s imaginations. And I’m sure it’s what inspired many of you to attend this event.

I see quite a few familiar faces here today. But there are also a lot of new ones – and that’s good news for us.

Because as we continue to incorporate drones into our airspace, the people in this room and the organizations you represent are going to be more important than ever before.

I’m going to be leading a panel on the FAA’s unmanned aircraft integration efforts in a few minutes. We’ll be covering some of our greatest hits, which I’m sure many of you are familiar with.

We finalized a rule that allows people to fly unmanned aircraft for commercial purposes under specific conditions, and we’ve issued more than 37,000 Remote Pilot Certificates to date.

We set up an online drone registry that’s received 770,000 registrations and counting in a little over 15 months.

The B4UFLY app, which we created to let people know where it’s safe and legal to fly a drone, has been downloaded more than 200,000 times.

And our “No Drone Zone” public education campaign has helped keep events like the Inauguration and Super Bowl safe.

I’m proud of this record, and how quickly we achieved it.

But I’m going to say something that’s likely to give my colleagues heartburn: This was the easy stuff.

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

There’s tremendous interest in expanding operations so that unmanned aircraft can be flown over people, and beyond visual line of sight.

It’s not hard to see why: drones could provide a whole new perspective on both our cities and some of the most remote areas of the country.

But introducing these operations into our airspace also introduces a unique set of challenges.

There are obvious safety questions. What happens to people on the ground if a drone flying overhead fails?

Then there are security concerns. How can we make sure unmanned aircraft don’t gain access to sensitive sites? And after seeing how drones can be used for ill-intent overseas, how can we ensure similar incidents don’t happen here?

These aren’t questions the FAA can or should answer alone.

All of those greatest hits I mentioned earlier were only possible because of the work we did with the people in this room.

And as we tackle these new safety and security challenges, we’re turning to you once again.

In the coming weeks, we will begin bringing the industry and national security leadership together to address these issues.

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

We’re also launching a new Aviation Rulemaking Committee made up of a diverse group of aviation, technology, law enforcement, and safety stakeholders that will help us create standards for remotely identifying and tracking unmanned aircraft during operations.

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.

These initiatives are just the most recent example of how the FAA is working with stakeholders on all aspects of integration.

Later today, you’ll hear about two other industry-led groups we’ve formed – the Drone Advisory Committee, and the Unmanned Aircraft Safety Team.

This is a very deliberate approach we’re taking, and I see it as having two primary benefits.

First, we’re providing venues for some of the smartest people in technology and aviation to work together on the issues we all care about.

And second, it gives us an opportunity to create a shared vision of what we’re trying to accomplish and how we’re going to get there.

Here’s the thing with having a seat at the table: it comes with a certain level of responsibility.

We all need to have skin in the game, and be invested in producing the best possible outcomes for all parties.

It’s easy to focus on all of the bells and whistles that come with unmanned aircraft. This drone is the lightest and the smallest. This one can fly farther and faster.

But technology can also solve some of the safety and security challenges we’re facing.

For example, we’re already working with industry to test tools that can detect unauthorized drone operations near airports and other critical infrastructure.

The way I see it, the more problems industry can solve itself using technology, the better.

You’re going to do it more quickly and efficiently than the FAA ever could through regulations.

It may surprise a few of you to hear me say that. But this isn’t a new idea at our agency.

Late last year, we completely overhauled how we certify small general aviation aircraft.

For a long time, the FAA told manufacturers how to build a safe airplane by requiring specific technologies.

But as companies came up with new and better ideas, our certification processes struggled to keep up.

So we threw out the old rule book.

Instead of prescribing certain technologies and designs, we’re now defining the performance objectives we want to achieve. This lets industry figure out the best and safest ways to meet them.

We want to work with the unmanned aircraft industry in the same way.

We know how fast you’re churning out new drone designs and capabilities. And we don’t want bureaucratic red tape to hamper your progress.

On the contrary: we want to support it.

When we all work in good faith… when we all share the same safety goals… we can accomplish some truly impressive things.

That’s what this Symposium is about. It’s being hosted by the FAA and AUVSI, but we have no intention of dominating the conversation.

Instead, our goal is to provide a productive framework that allows you to engage with each other and share ideas about the future of the unmanned aircraft industry in America.

We’ve been calling this work “integration,” but another word for it is “inclusion.”

Each of you has a unique perspective to share, and I hope you’ll take the opportunity to do so early and often.

We’re all going to need to roll up our sleeves. We have a lot of work to do.

But when we get this right, we’ll know we’ve helped define the next great era of aviation – together.

Thank you.

***

Now I’d like to welcome our first panel to the stage.

As I said before, the FAA has racked up an impressive list of accomplishments on unmanned aircraft that wouldn’t have been possible without our partnerships with industry.

But they also required close collaboration inside the FAA – between offices, and across lines of business.

Today, I’m joined by some of our senior executives, who will share how we’re coordinating our drone integration efforts across the agency.

Please help me welcome:

• Peggy Gilligan, Associate Administrator for Aviation Safety;
• Teri Bristol, Chief Operating Officer of the Air Traffic Organization;
• Winsome Lenfert, Deputy Associate Administrator for the Office of Airports; and
• Jim Eck, Assistant Administrator for NextGen.

NATCA CFS–Archie League Banquet

Remarks As Prepared For Delivery

Thank you, Paul. I’m honored to be here. I also want to thank you, Trish, and NATCA for hosting another great safety conference.

It’s always an honor and a privilege to join you at the Archie League Awards and share in your recognition of the fine work the FAA does on a daily basis.

This is particularly true in times of crisis, when you have to solve a problem and you have to get it right the first time.

I’m particularly pleased to be joining you tonight because this is the first speech I have given since the Administration released its proposed fiscal year 2018 proposed budget last week.

I’m sure your attention – like that of many in this industry – is focused on a recommendation by the Administration that we develop a long-term plan for restructuring how we provide air traffic control services. 

We’ve seen a number of the alphabet groups come forward with their positions on this proposal, and I know that NATCA has registered its thoughts and concerns.

I am encouraged that we are beginning what I expect will be a serious, thoughtful dialogue on the long-term needs of the FAA.

These conversations are extremely important as we look ahead to ensure that we provide a safe and efficient organization – one that will meet the needs of the traveling public, and considers the future needs of our nation’s airspace.

The job you do as controllers has changed exponentially since the days when Archie League first waved signal flags at airplanes at the edge of a runway in St. Louis.

Throughout my tenure at the FAA, you have heard me say that we need to focus on the how. We all know what our mission is, but I have stressed that we need to change how we do business.

Without a doubt, the path we have traveled together over the last five years has made all of us at the FAA much smarter and more nimble.

I’ll be the first to acknowledge that we’d all like to move faster.  We have had to deal with shutdowns, short term extensions of our authorizations and appropriations, and the daily challenges of ensuring the safety of the aviation system. 

I firmly believe that any fair review of the past few years makes clear that we have accomplished a great deal.

ERAM is now in place throughout the system, and new technologies such as ADS-B and Data Comm are helping you do your jobs in ways that were never possible before.

At the same time, we continue to harness the precision of satellite navigation through our Metroplex airspace projects and other efforts to replace outdated procedures with more efficient PBN routes.

This progress is due to the collaborative approach we have taken with industry and with you, our labor partners.

I expect we’ll hear many points of view in the coming weeks about what happens next as we engage in these discussions.

No matter where you are in the debate, I think we all want the same thing – an air traffic system that is second to none.

We expect to have more details when the President submits his full 2018 budget to Congress in May. In the meantime, we will continue to work with Congress on our current funding for 2017.

A few weeks ago, I spoke to a group of aviation industry leaders at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Aviation Summit in Washington.

I told the group the same thing that I now share with you. This public policy conversation we are undertaking will only yield the best results if we keep the American people at the forefront.

All you have to do is pick up an aerospace magazine or look at the latest technology blog to see that the fundamental definition of aviation has changed dramatically just in the last few years.

True, the commercial airlines and general aviation community still make up the vast majority of what we do today, and maybe they always will.

But we’ve got a whole new cast waiting in the wings. They range from small unmanned aircraft to commercial space launches and even space tourism.

The day isn’t that far off when the skies around major metropolitan cities will include a steady stream of drones delivering packages. We’ve even seen a few early proposals for pilotless airborne versions of Uber or Lyft.

And I haven’t even mentioned the various research projects into reducing or eliminating sonic booms that could make it possible for supersonic civilian flights across the U.S.

One thing I am certain of is that all of these users will expect to use the National Airspace System to their benefit. We’ve been calling our efforts to do this “integration,” but another word for that is “inclusion.”

Somebody is going have to decide how to allocate this extremely valuable asset – the public’s airspace – in an equitable and fair manner.

If we are to succeed, none of us can be in a place where our strategy is to protect what we’ve already got.

Everybody’s got a valid point to make, but we aren’t talking about building the air traffic system of today. We’re also building the air traffic system for tomorrow.

Regardless of the structure that might take, we can’t let safety take a back seat.

Over the decades, the FAA’s dedicated workforce has taken its stewardship of the nation’s airspace seriously. America’s unparalleled safety record is proof of both your vision and your professionalism.

On issue after issue, NATCA has worked with us to make this happen. Together, we’ve addressed issues like electronic distractions, fatigue, and runway incursions, among others.

We’ve collaborated on many safety programs like ATSAP, the ATO’s Top 5 Hazard List, Recurrent Training, Take a Stand for Safety, and others.

I encourage controllers to continue to share safety information and insights with us.

Through the non-punitive culture fostered by ATSAP, controllers have submitted more than 127,000 safety reports since the program started nine years ago.

Those reports enabled us to more accurately identify areas of risk, and we’ve issued 176 corrective actions as a result.

Risk-based safety efforts like these, and many others, reflect an understanding that everyone here can agree with—that while today’s system is safe, we have to continually adapt to address emerging safety concerns.

Your expertise makes you uniquely qualified in the upcoming debates over the future of what you do, and I look forward to seeing where the conversations take us.

Before I close, I’d like to take a moment to acknowledge the reason we’re here tonight – and that’s because some of our colleagues performed their work particularly well when it counted most.

I’d like to briefly highlight the story of one of tonight’s award recipients.

This past July, a Navy F-18 fighter experienced an equipment malfunction while on the way to Asia for a training exercise.

The pilot was forced to shut down one engine and declare an emergency. To make matters worse, the weather around the Aleutian Islands was deteriorating, with visibility down to only a quarter mile.

To say this is a forbidding area is putting it mildly. As you may know, it’s the same area where they film that show “The Deadliest Catch.”

The pilot needed a lifeline and he got it from Jessica Earp, a controller in our Alaska En Route Center.

Jessica’s knowledge of the Alaskan airspace and her quick thinking got this pilot safely to a runway on a tiny island in the Bering Sea.

We are going to hear other compelling stories a little later, and I want to be the first to congratulate the winners and all of those who were nominated.

Whether it was mechanical problems, lack of experience, inattention, or some combination of those, all of these situations led to moments in which controllers were the last line of defense between a pilot and a potentially unpleasant ending.

These controllers would be the first to tell you that what they did was NOT heroic.

They simply came to work that day and were presented with a situation in which they had to think quickly and make the right call.

They’ll tell you something you already know: Every time a controller puts on that headset, he or she is one event away from getting this award next year.

It’s the nature of what you do.

I know I speak for myself and the rest of the traveling public when I say to all of you: I’m grateful you’re there.

Thank you.

Before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation concerning Unmanned Aircraft Systems: Innovation, Integration, Successes, and Challenges

Chairman Thune, Senator Nelson, Members of the Committee:

Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today. My name is Earl Lawrence, Director of the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Integration Office. In this role, I am responsible for the facilitation of all regulations, policies, and procedures required to support the FAA's UAS integration efforts. I also represent the FAA on the Senior Steering Group of the UAS Executive Committee focusing on coordination and alignment of efforts among key federal government agencies, and I oversee the Subcommittee of the Drone Advisory Committee.

The Department of Transportation's (USDOT) and FAA's vision for fully integrating UAS into the National Airspace System (NAS) entails UAS operating harmoniously, side-by-side with manned aircraft in a safe and secure manner. This vision goes beyond the accommodation practices in use today, which largely rely on operational segregation to maintain systemic safety. As we work to realize this vision, the FAA intends to work incrementally to introduce UAS into the NAS after careful consideration of the safety of people and property both in the air and on the ground.

Two years ago, the FAA appeared before this committee to discuss the status of the safe, incremental integration of UAS—more commonly referred to as drones—into the NAS, and also into the FAA. In that time, we have made significant progress toward our goal of fully integrating this new class of aircraft and their operators. This progress is the result of significant coordination efforts across the FAA. While my office serves as the focal point for external stakeholders, almost every policy and support office within the Agency has dedicated staff and resources to supporting these integration activities. Today, the United States is clearly a global leader in UAS integration, and I would like to highlight for you some examples of our accomplishments, our challenges, and our ongoing work to build upon our successes as we move forward with the next phase of UAS integration.

Small UAS Registration
Aircraft registration is a foundational statutory requirement that applies to all civil aircraft and promotes a culture of accountability. At the time of our last discussion, we were experiencing a huge influx of new, casual UAS users—people who fly UAS for personal entertainment or recreation. Many of these operators do not have the basic aviation knowledge, training, or experience required for pilots of traditional manned aircraft. Growing concern about reports of UAS flying near airports and manned aircraft highlighted the need to educate these users about how to operate UAS safely as soon as possible, preferably before they began operating small UAS in the NAS.

We knew at the outset that we would need to work with industry stakeholders in order to develop a registration process for small UAS. The Secretary of Transportation and the FAA Administrator announced the creation of a UAS Registration Task Force on October 19, 2015. This Task Force was comprised of industry representatives with a range of stakeholder viewpoints, interests, and knowledge. The group met for three days in November 2015 to develop recommendations for a small UAS registration process.

After evaluating the Task Force's recommendations and public comments, the FAA published an Interim Final Rule on Registration and Marking Requirements for Small Unmanned Aircraft on December 14, 2015. This rule established a new web-based process for small UAS registration, relieving operators of the need to use the legacy paper-based process, and took effect on December 21, 2015. The requirements stipulate that owners must register their UAS online if the combined weight of the vehicle and anything it carries is more than 0.55 lbs. and less than 55 lbs., and is flown outdoors for either recreational or non-recreational purposes, consistent with the statutory requirement for aircraft registration. Within the first two weeks of online registration opening, over 160,000 UAS owners had registered their UAS.

The registration process serves two critical functions that will help foster a culture of safety, security, and accountability in the emerging UAS community. First, it provides a means to associate an unmanned aircraft with its owner. This helps law enforcement and regulators identify an operator more quickly in the event of an incident and ensures operators are aware that they are responsible for the safe operation of their vehicle. Secondly, and equally important, the registration process provides an opportunity to educate users about how to safely operate UAS in the NAS, including instructions to not fly near manned aircraft and always fly within visual line-of-sight, as well as an acknowledgement that flying in the nation's airspace comes with certain responsibilities and expectations. To date, over 750,000 small UAS owners have registered, including more than 40,000 in the last two weeks of December 2016. The FAA has used the registration database on three occasions to provide registrants with important, time-sensitive safety information about flying their UAS–during Hurricane Matthew, wildfire season, and the Iditarod Great Sled Race.

Small UAS Rule (Part 107)
Building on the successful launch of the online registration system, the FAA adopted a similar approach of engagement and collaboration with industry stakeholders in the development of the first set of operating rules for small UAS, which forms the bedrock of the regulatory framework for full UAS integration. Because UAS technology is evolving at a rapid pace, a flexible regulatory framework is imperative. Our goal is to provide the basic rules for operators, not identify specific technological safety solutions that could quickly become outdated. We've achieved this goal with the final small UAS rule (14 CFR part 107), which was issued on June 21, 2016 and went into effect on August 29, 2016.

Part 107 introduces a brand new pilot certificate that is specific for UAS operations—the Remote Pilot Certificate. Unlike a part 61 airman certificate (certification for manned aircraft), which necessarily has more stringent requirements, an individual can obtain a Remote Pilot Certificate by passing an aeronautical knowledge test at an FAA-approved testing center. Alternatively, if the individual holds a current non-student part 61 airman certificate, the individual may complete an online UAS training course in lieu of the knowledge test. Approximately 24,000 applicants have taken the Remote Pilot Knowledge Exam, and over 91% have passed.

The small UAS rule has also greatly reduced the number of, and the need for, Section 333 exemptions, which the FAA used to grant case-by-case approval for certain unmanned aircraft to conduct commercial operations. Before part 107, the primary way to operate a drone for non-hobby purposes was to obtain a Section 333 exemption and an accompanying Certificate of Waiver or Authorization (COA). The FAA issued 5,551 exemptions under Section 333.

The provisions of part 107 are designed to minimize risks to other aircraft and people and property on the ground, as well as provide the UAS industry and operator community with the flexibility to innovate. Among other operational limits such as speed and altitude, the regulations require pilots to keep an unmanned aircraft within visual line-of-sight, fly during daylight hours, and prohibit flights over unprotected people on the ground who are not directly involved in the UAS operation.

In keeping with our goal of a flexible framework, part 107 also allows operators to apply online for waivers and airspace authorizations to fly outside the rule's requirements, provided that they demonstrate their proposed operation may be conducted safely. This process has been used successfully to issue over 400 waivers and 2,200 airspace authorizations for UAS operations in controlled airspace, including the drone show featured during halftime at this year's Super Bowl. Part 107 allows for operations in Class G airspace without prior air traffic control authorization; operations in Class B, C, D, and E airspace (i.e. controlled airspace) may be permitted with authorization from the FAA Air Traffic Organization (ATO).

The small UAS rule provides UAS operators with unprecedented access to the NAS while also ensuring the safety of the skies, and was largely well received by the UAS industry. However, it is only the first step in the FAA's plan to integrate UAS into the NAS. Consistent with our incremental integration strategy, we intend to use a risk-based approach to facilitate expanded UAS operations, including operations over people, operations beyond visual line-of-sight, and transportation of persons and property.

Next Steps and Challenges Ahead
The FAA's commitment to further expanding permissible UAS operations and enabling this emerging technology to safely achieve its full potential requires resolving several key challenges. Congress recognized a number of these challenges in the FAA Extension, Safety, and Security Act of 2016. Before operations beyond visual line-of-sight can become routine, FAA must address risks posed by drones to other manned aircraft, as well as risks posed by
drones during a loss-of-operator-control event. Additionally, preemption, privacy, enforcement, and security–both physical and cyber–remain key issues as UAS integration progresses.

Technical Challenges
One way the FAA is working to address the technical challenges presented by increasingly complex UAS operations is to support its UAS test sites in conducting critical research. One of the primary goals of the test site program is to help the FAA determine technical and operational trends that could support safety-related decision making for UAS-NAS integration. In 2016, the test sites continued to conduct research to validate key operational requirements for UAS integration, including research and testing into technology that enables UAS to detect and avoid other aircraft and obstacles, investigation of lost link causes and resolutions, and evaluation of the adequacy of ATC and communications procedures with UAS. Test site activities have also explored industry applications of UAS, such as emergency response, utility company infrastructure inspection, wildlife census, and precision agriculture.

To complement the work being done at and by the UAS test sites, in May 2015 the FAA selected a UAS Center of Excellence (COE), led by Mississippi State University and the Alliance for System Safety of UAS through Research Excellence (ASSURE). The goal of the UAS COE is to create a cost-sharing relationship between academia, industry, and government that will focus on research areas of primary interest to the FAA and the UAS community. The FAA has received initial research results for several research topics, including airborne and ground-based collision testing, which are currently being peer reviewed by both internal and external research teams. This work fits into the FAA's overall UAS research and development portfolio, which is primarily focused on applied research to support the development of rules, policies, and procedures.

To keep pace with the rapid increase in the number of UAS operations, and to pave the way for the full implementation of beyond visual line-of-sight operations, FAA is working with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and industry to develop and eventually deploy a UAS Traffic Management (UTM) System. NASA's research concept specifically considers small UAS operations below 400 feet, in airspace that contains low-density manned aircraft operations. NASA has developed a phased approach for their UTM concept, building from rural to urban and from low to high-density airspace. In April 2016, NASA coordinated with the six FAA-selected test sites to perform phase one testing of the UTM research platform. A Research Transition Team (RTT) has been established between the FAA and NASA to coordinate the UTM initiative, as the concept introduces policy, regulatory, and infrastructure implications that must be fully understood and addressed before moving forward with technology deployment. Additionally, the UTM work with NASA will inform our efforts with respect to UAS operating in proximity to airports. A second RTT has also been established with NASA, which is focused on UAS operating in higher altitude and controlled airspace, as opposed to the UTM initiative, which focuses on operations in low altitude managed airspace.

Security and Enforcement
As Congress recognized in the 2016 FAA Extension, the security challenges presented by UAS technology require a whole-of-government response. The FAA is working with several departments and agencies–including the Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Defense, and others–to identify and evaluate technologies that detect and track unmanned aircraft movement through the NAS. However, technologies to detect and track unmanned aircraft movement through the NAS are only one part of the equation to address the security challenges presented by evolving UAS technologies. To adequately secure and protect the airspace we must continue to educate the public on the safe operation of UAS and work with our law enforcement partners at every level of government in responding to incidents involving threats from UAS.

We also continue to work closely with our industry partners to evaluate these promising drone-detection technologies. As directed in Section 2206 of the 2016 FAA Extension, the FAA has established a pilot program to evaluate some of these technologies, which have been tested in airport environments at New York's JFK Airport, Atlantic City International Airport, and Denver International Airport. Further testing will take place at Dallas-Fort Worth later this year. In addition, the FAA is working with interagency partners to develop policies and procedures for restricting UAS operations over fixed site facilities, as directed by Section 2209 of the 2016 FAA Extension.

The potential for conflicts between manned and unmanned aircraft has become a very real challenge in integrating these new technologies into the NAS. We are seeing an increased number of drone-sighting reports from pilots of manned aircraft, with approximately 1,800 reports of sightings in 2016, compared to 1,200 reports the year before. As the Federal agency responsible for the safety of the flying community, the FAA remains concerned about the increasing number of these reports. To begin addressing this issue, we are actively engaging in public education and outreach efforts, such as "Know Before You Fly" and the small UAS registration process.

Sometimes, however, education is not enough. If an unauthorized UAS operation is intentional, creates an unacceptable risk to safety, or is intended to cause harm, strong and swift enforcement action will be taken. Recently, we announced a comprehensive settlement agreement with a UAS operator that violated airspace regulations and aircraft operating rules by flying drones in congested airspace over New York City and Chicago. However, one of the enforcement challenges we often face is identifying the operator of a UAS flying where it shouldn't. This Committee has recognized that challenge with Section 2202 of the 2016 FAA Extension, which directs the FAA to convene industry stakeholders to develop consensus standards for remotely identifying UAS operators. We plan to begin convening stakeholders this spring.

Continued engagement with the law enforcement community is paramount to ensuring public safety. In January 2015, the FAA published guidance for the law enforcement community on its UAS Web site, and has been actively engaging with law enforcement agencies at local, State, and Federal levels to reduce confusion about how to respond to UAS events. The FAA encourages citizens to call local law enforcement if they feel someone is endangering people or property on the ground or in the sky. Local law enforcement should then work with local FAA field offices to ensure these safety issues are addressed.

Continued Engagement with Industry
As the FAA moves forward with UAS integration, we will continue to involve all stakeholders in framing challenges, prioritizing activities, and developing consensus solutions. By leveraging this expertise, we ensure that the FAA maintains its position as the global leader in aviation safety. Last summer, we formed the Drone Advisory Committee (DAC). Its members include representatives from industry, government, labor, and academia. The DAC will allow us to look at drone use from every angle, while considering the different viewpoints and needs of the diverse UAS community.

The first DAC meeting was held in September 2016 and its members have already started to work on assisting us in two key areas: identifying the roles and responsibilities of drone operators, manufacturers, and Federal, state, and local officials related to drone use in populated areas; and determining what the highest-priority UAS operations are and how we can enable access to the airspace needed to conduct these operations. The FAA recently created a new tasking concerning a third key area: how to fund the full complement of services required to safely integrate UAS operations into the NAS in the long-term. We look forward to receiving and reviewing the DAC's recommendations.

In October 2016, we also began working with industry to form an Unmanned Aircraft Safety Team (UAST), modeled after the very successful Commercial Aviation Safety Team (CAST). This group's mission is to collect and use UAS operational data to identify safety risks, and then develop and voluntarily implement mitigation strategies to address those risks. The group is currently working on several projects, including helping the FAA develop a survey to the UAS operator community.

Apart from our work with the DAC and the UAST, the FAA held its first UAS symposium in Daytona Beach, Florida in April last year. The symposium provided a forum for UAS stakeholders to provide feedback directly to FAA decision-makers on topics related to UAS integration. Nearly 500 attendees heard keynote remarks from the FAA Administrator and Deputy Administrator, and participated in discussions on topics ranging from aircraft and pilot certification to legal and policy issues related to UAS operations and integration.

Our second UAS symposium will be held in the Washington D.C. area on March 27-29, 2017. Conversations will touch on the more significant challenges that integration presents, including the intersection of privacy and preemption, the importance of harmonizing international regulations, and the array of new safety and security risks associated with increased UAS operations. The symposium will also have a Resource Center to provide attendees with one-on-one technical support on authorizations, waivers, Part 107 requirements, and other policies and regulations.

Building on Our Success
Moving forward, we intend to build on the progress that we have made this past year with two notable initiatives currently underway. We are developing a Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability (LAANC) to automate the process for UAS operators to notify Air Traffic Control of flights within five miles of an airport center or to get authorization to fly in certain classes of airspace. This initiative will be the first step toward implementing UTM. As part of LAANC, the FAA will publish UAS facility maps that indicate likely safe altitudes for UAS flight and distances around airports. Industry applications will facilitate interaction with the maps and may provide automatic notification to the FAA and operational authorization to UAS operators through data exchange. Data received by the FAA may be used by Air Traffic Control to contact the operator in the event of an emergency. On February 1, 2017, the FAA held the first in a series of industry workshops to discuss this initiative in greater detail, and recently released a sample of 10 facility maps to the industry partners involved in LAANC.

The second initiative is to develop an integrated gateway—a common web portal and associated API—that will serve as a one-stop-shop for all UAS interactions with the FAA. It will allow UAS owners and operators to register their aircraft, apply for an airspace authorization or waiver, file an accident report, and keep abreast of the latest FAA news and announcements concerning UAS. This gateway will be designed for desktops, laptops, tablets, and phones, and will serve as the platform for future communications with the FAA as UAS rules and regulations evolve.

Conclusion
The progress that we have made, in particular during the past year, might have seemed unimaginable not long ago. From the beginning, we knew that we had to engage our stakeholders, and it paid off with the creation of a UAS registry and the successful implementation of a flexible regulatory framework to enable routine small UAS operations. Our collaborative working relationships with the DAC and UAST will help inform and prioritize integration activities, ensure we remain engaged with industry trends, and maintain clear channels of communication to convey expectations and solicit feedback. We know, however, that these accomplishments are only the first step. As reinforced in the 2016 FAA Extension, there are many important issues yet to be addressed and we will continue to work with our stakeholders as we move forward.

This concludes my statement. I will be happy to answer your questions at this time.

NASAO Legislative Conference

Remarks as prepared for delivery

Good afternoon, everyone. It’s great to be back addressing NASAO again.

The world looks a lot different than it did the last time I spoke here.

President Trump has taken office – and as with any new administration, there are a number of changes happening across the federal government and at the FAA.

So I’d like to start off today by providing a brief update on where things stand.

As you know, Elaine Chao was recently confirmed as Secretary of Transportation.

She comes to us with a wealth of experience in the public sector. She formerly served as the Deputy Secretary of Transportation under President George H.W. Bush, and the Secretary of Labor under President George W. Bush.

Secretary Chao is in the process of building her team at the Department of Transportation. About 100 political appointees have or will be joining DOT in the coming weeks, and we’ll be welcoming a number of them to the FAA.

I've had the opportunity to meet with the Secretary frequently since she assumed her new role. She has shared that her top priorities for DOT are safety, infrastructure, and innovation. These are topics we obviously know a lot about at the FAA.

Still, this is obviously a period of change for our agency. New administrations always mean new agendas and priorities – and there’s a lot we still don’t know.

What we do know, however, is that our mission remains the same: to provide the safest, most efficient aerospace system in the world.

And in order to continue meeting that mission, we need the right tools and resources.

We all know how vital aviation is to our national interests. It’s estimated to support nearly 11 million jobs and account for more than five percent of our Gross Domestic Product and $1.6 trillion in total economic activity.

Supporting this industry is important to all of us at the national, state, and local level.

President Trump has said he wants to invest in America’s airports, which is great news.

We hope to see this commitment reflected in our budget and the FAA bill that Congress will take up this year.

We’re also likely to see a major public policy debate play out – about the upgrades being made to our air traffic control system, how it’s being managed, and who should pay for it.

The FAA must and will play an active role in this conversation.

I’ll be recommending to the new Administration that we proactively put forward our own reauthorization proposal.

It should be a plan that helps us build on our safety record, integrate new entrants like drones into our airspace, and continue modernizing our air traffic control system.

All of you have been essential partners in these modernization efforts. NextGen isn’t an FAA project, or an airline project – it’s redefining air traffic control nationwide and delivering benefits in all of your states.

The FAA can demonstrate that it has already delivered more than $2.7 billion in NextGen benefits. We expect that number to climb to $160 billion by 2030.

And for programs already underway, we expect to achieve $13 billion in benefits by 2020. At that point, the benefits will exceed our projected investment in NextGen.

One of the key reasons we’ve been successful is because of the work we’ve done with stakeholders through the NextGen Advisory Committee.

We’ve worked closely with industry and leaders at the state and local level to prioritize our investments and deliver the benefits they need most.

This led us to complete the nationwide rollout of Data Comm more than two years ahead of schedule, for example.

So the facts speak for themselves: NextGen is succeeding. We’re delivering benefits. And our progress is being recognized by industry.

The work we’re doing on NextGen is only one part of a larger cultural change taking place at the FAA.

From its earliest days, aviation has always been defined by innovation. It needs to define our agency, as well.

I’ve been taking that message to every office at every level of the FAA. And we’re seeing results in a wide variety of ways.

In December, we issued a final rule overhauling the FAA’s airworthiness standards for small general aviation airplanes.

There’s a simple idea at the heart of these new certification standards: we don’t want to tell manufacturers how to build things.

Instead of requiring certain technologies or designs, we’re defining the performance objectives we want to achieve.

This approach recognizes that there’s more than one way to deliver on safety. It provides room for flexibility and innovation in the marketplace. And it will allow American businesses to create good manufacturing jobs and better compete in the global market.

We’re not just rethinking how airplanes get designed and built. We’re also looking at what goes into them.

By working closely with industry, we’ve made a tremendous amount of progress in the development and deployment of alternative jet fuel.

Over the last seven years, five new drop-in fuels have been approved that are all safe to use in today’s aircraft fleet, and additional fuels are under evaluation.

These fuels come from a wide variety of resources –everything from fats and oils, to sugar and cellulose, to solid and gas waste.

Fuel costs are also decreasing. While early efforts produced fuel at $60 a gallon, some are now coming in at about $3 a gallon.

These new fuels, which a number of operators are beginning to use, offer a tremendous opportunity – not only for the industry, but for reducing aviation’s impact on the environment.

Opportunity drives so much of the innovation happening in aviation today. This industry has never been content with what we have – it’s always focused on what’s possible.

Nowhere are we seeing this more than in commercial space.

Space transportation is more popular than it’s ever been. We’re seeing more vehicles, carrying more types of payloads, launching from more sites.

In fact, we’ve had a 55 percent increase in the number of launch applications compared to this time last year.

With all this growth comes added complexity. So the FAA is looking into new and better ways to integrate these operations into our airspace.

Until now, we’ve considered commercial space launches to be rare events. So we’ve blocked off huge portions of airspace each time a launch occurs.

We know this isn’t sustainable. And we’re working to develop a traffic management system that will allow us to more efficiently block off and release air space so these operations can become a more regular part of our larger air traffic system.

We’re also examining how we should classify spaceports.

There’s a wide range of vehicles that could potentially operate from a commercial space launch site. But not every one of these vehicles can be safely accommodated at every spaceport.

We need to work with industry and your states to discuss how to develop a system for categorizing the various types of spaceports being considered. This will help provide greater clarity on the availability and usage of these sites.

I hope you’ll play an active role in these conversations.

Of course, we can’t talk about integrating new users into our airspace without mentioning drones.

I know Hoot Gibson spoke earlier, so I don’t want to spend too much time on this topic.

But I do want to thank NASAO and its members for supporting our work on unmanned aircraft.

Last year, we formed a Drone Advisory Committee to help us prioritize our unmanned aircraft integration activities over the long term, including the development of future regulations and policies.

It includes representatives from the technology and aviation industries, labor organizations, academia, and state and local governments. NASAO is well-represented.

David Greene from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation is serving as a member, and John Eagerton from the Alabama Department of Transportation is heading up one of the Committee’s task groups.

At the DAC's meeting last month, the group discussed the roles and responsibilities of Federal, state, and local governments when it comes to regulating drone operations in low-altitude airspace.

They also considered airspace access, and identifying the highest-priority unmanned aircraft operations beyond those that are currently permitted.

And they started to look into the issue of funding – how best to pay for the services required to integrate unmanned aircraft into our airspace.

At the Committee’s next meeting in May, we’ll be receiving their initial recommendations on these topics. And their feedback will be essential to the FAA’s unmanned aircraft efforts moving forward.

Of course, drones aren’t the only emerging technologies we’re dealing with. 

Remote towers, which use video and surveillance technology to take the place of a manned air traffic control tower, could potentially open up new areas to air service where it wouldn’t otherwise be economically feasible.

This technology is already being used in other countries to offer air traffic services.

And the FAA has been proud to work closely with our partners in Virginia and Colorado to test these remote tower capabilities.

With all of this innovation happening in aviation, it’s no surprise that it captures the attention of a number of young people.

I heard a story on NPR recently about a group of kids from Chicago who got to take a trip to Washington. For many of them, it was their first time leaving Chicago.

The reporter went along for the ride and noted how everything was new to them. While the seasoned travelers were probably only paying casual attention to the pre-flight safety briefing, these kids were riveted to every word.

It was apparently a cloudy day, so when the plane finally broke free of the clouds, one of the kids shouted, “We’re in the blue!”

We often get so caught up in the mechanics of what we do – the politics, the technology, the infrastructure. It can be easy to lose our sense of wonder for flight.

But that sense of wonder is what creates the enthusiasm for aviation that is going to help continue propelling our industry forward.

The FAA has made it a priority to reach out to the next generation through a number of education initiatives.

We’ve hosted Aviation Career Education Academies across the country, which introduce kids to the many careers available in our industry.

And last year, our Aviation and Space Education Program reached nearly 18,000 students with activities supporting STEM subjects.

I know this is also a priority for NASAO and your Chairman, Brad Brandt. And I’m proud that we’ve been able to work together on it.

Most recently, NASAO, the FAA, and other industry partners selected two top aerospace educators for award recognition. And we’ve been happy to help promote NASAO’s International Art Contest, which challenges students to illustrate the importance of aviation through art.

The FAA and NASAO have a long history of cooperation and collaboration, in this and countless other areas.

In fact, we’ll be signing a new Memorandum of Understanding that reinforces this relationship in just a few minutes.

During this period of transition, our partnership will be more important than ever.

We have a new President, a new Transportation Secretary, and a new Congress. In the coming months, we’ll be considering some of the most fundamental questions about our nation’s aviation system.

I hope you’ll make your voices heard.

Thank you.

U.S. Chamber of Commerce Aviation Summit

Good morning.

It’s an honor to be joining you today at the 16^th annual U.S. Chamber of Commerce Aviation Summit.

And I would like to recognize Carol Hallett who thought a couple of decades ago that the business community should sponsor an aviation summit.  Carol, may I say that you have succeeded beyond what anyone could have imagined.  Congratulations and thank you for bringing us all together at this can’t miss forum. 

A couple of my predecessors are here today – Allan McArtor and Marion Blakey.

Now, I’m sure they’d both agree that on the good days, being FAA Administrator is one of the best jobs in aviation.

On the rare bad day, it’s probably more like being the CEO of an airline – during the 1990s.

In all seriousness, it’s always a pleasure to speak to a group that shares an abiding passion for aviation.

You recognize that a safe and vibrant transportation system is the lifeblood of our nation’s economy, and aviation ties us closer together than ever.

Each day, more than 50,000 commercial airliners and general aviation airplanes take off and land safely in the U.S., connecting people – and ideas.

The people in this room make that happen.

I’m sure you’ve all seen the workplace signs that say “Safety is No Accident.” As you all know, when it comes to aviation, safety is intentional.

Every day, thousands of professionals across the nation come to work knowing that their primary responsibility is to make sure everything goes smoothly on their watch.

Today, because of the work we have done together we can all take a certain amount of pride in saying that aviation has never been safer.

In fact, during the span of most of our careers, flying in the United States has become exponentially safer – in part because of your willingness to tackle some very tough challenges.

As an agency – and as an industry – we’ve made significant strides because we’ve collaborated as a community.

This is of course most evident in the safety record we have achieved as a result of the work of the Commercial Aviation Safety Team.  And we have now expanded those collaborative efforts to look at a broad range of operational challenges. 

Early in my tenure, it became clear to me that modernizing the nation’s air traffic management system was much more than deploying a new technology platform.  It requires fundamental changes in how all of us do business and a constant focus on how we deliver benefits.

We formed the NextGen Advisory Committee to enable us to set priorities and to deliver real benefits. Then, last year when we needed collaboration with traditional aviation leaders and new entrants to our community, we created the Drone Advisory Committee to help us tackle complex challenges.

Without a doubt, the path we have traveled together makes all of us at the FAA much smarter and more nimble. 

My focus is to ensure the FAA fulfills its safety and oversight responsibilities within a framework that recognizes that innovation never stops.

At every turn, I’ve emphasized that we at the FAA share a common goal with those we regulate. We all want to leave our children a legacy that ensures the U.S. aerospace system is second to none.

Which brings me to the thoughts I wanted to share with you today.

It’s certainly the case that virtually everyone in this room recognizes that today we are operating the largest, most complex and safest air transportation system in the world.

I suspect it is also true that many in this room have engaged in debates during the past decades about just how our air traffic management system could best be structured.

From my perspective, discussing alternative approaches when our aviation community is strong and our system is being safely and effectively modernized through our NextGen initiatives represents the right time to be asking critical questions.

Along with my FAA colleagues, I am eager to engage in a full and honest review of the path we have traveled with many of you in this room to modernize the air traffic management system.

While I’ll be the first to acknowledge that we’d all like to move faster, I also firmly believe that any fair review of the past few years makes clear that our work together has been critical to the success of the tremendous progress we have made to revamp our air traffic system with the latest technologies.

We are ready today to move away from ground-based radars and make the transition to our GPS-based ADS-B network.

And we look forward to the January 1, 2020, deadline when all of our customers will have the necessary ADS-B equipment installed in their airplanes.

Meanwhile, the core computer systems in all our enroute centers have been replaced with modern hardware and software.

 This new backbone is capable of incorporating every planned aspect of our ongoing modernization for decades to come.

Notice that I said ongoing.

The FAA can demonstrate that it has already delivered more than $2.72 billion in benefits under the NextGen modernization umbrella.

We expect that number to climb to $160 billion by 2030.

And for programs already underway, we expect to achieve $13 billion in benefits by 2020, at which time the benefits will exceed the projected investment in NextGen.

One of the reasons – actually, a key reason we’ve been successful – rests with a group I mentioned earlier.

Through our NextGen Advisory Committee – or the NAC, as we call it – the FAA and the industry have worked closely to identify and deliver the capabilities that matter most to the customers.

From its inception, the NAC has been led by senior airline executives with an intimate understanding of our shared challenges and opportunities.

In fact, our newest NAC chairman, David Bronczek, of FedEx, is here today. Dave, thank you for your willingness to put in the enormous amount of effort it takes to keep up with the broad range of improvements in the pipeline.

For those of you who don’t follow NextGen on a daily basis, I’d like to bring you up to speed on one unqualified success story.

Last year – at the request of the NAC – we focused a tremendous amount of effort on getting a technology called Data Comm into as many control towers as possible.

Data Comm allows air traffic controllers and pilots to communicate electronically, rather than by voice over busy air traffic frequencies.

At the beginning of 2016, Data Comm was operational at five airports. Today, it’s up and running at 55 towers nationwide.

For those of you keeping score at home, we are now 29 months ahead of schedule and under budget. We are planning to use those savings to install Data Comm in an additional seven towers.

So, we’ve come a long way from those years when our aviation agenda was defined by a fundamental challenge: How do we persuade the public that flying is safe?

In fact, by 2008, we had succeeded in reducing the commercial fatality risk by 84 percent from what it had been just a decade before.

Now, that’s a big number.

It’s even more impressive when you consider that – had we done nothing – the experts predicted we’d be experiencing a serious incident or accident every two weeks by now.

But, we know that this doesn’t mean we can all slap each other on the backs and go play some golf. We can never let our guard down when it comes to safety.

The moment safety takes a back seat – or even scoots over to let some other factor into the driver’s seat – we’ve lost the battle.

So where do we go from here?

Before I was asked to become the FAA’s Deputy Administrator in 2010, I was the president of a major division of a Fortune 500 company with experience in successfully fielding large, technology and infrastructure projects.

I want to put that hat back on for just a minute and report what I’ve found during my expedition into this wilderness of government bureaucracy and politics.

During the past three years, the FAA has been undergoing a noticeable cultural change as it has embraced what has truly been a fundamental redefinition of the term “aviation.”

For decades, aviation was defined as conventional aircraft doing what they’ve always done: Flying from Point A to Point B as seamlessly as possible.

Today, a host of new users want to do the same thing, but with small unmanned aircraft or commercial rocket launches.

All of our constituents are looking to the FAA to allow them to fly when and where they want, and to do so safely and efficiently.

As the steward of the National Airspace System, the FAA must find a way to balance these often-competing priorities. We must make sure that one of our nation’s most valuable assets – the air over our heads – remains safe and available to all Americans.

This balancing act has raised important questions about how our air traffic control system should be operated and who should pay for it.

And, this “balancing act” is further complicated when you realize that our success in some areas has impacts on our funding structure.

We have been spending a lot of time and money in developing efficient performance based navigation procedures.  Better, quiet, more efficient engines reduce costs and emissions.  But while PBN and better engine technology also greatly reduce fuel burn – a good thing – they also reduce fuel taxes which are an important contributor to the aviation trust fund that supports the FAA. 

New users of the airspace with aircraft that are unmanned do not pay fees today.

Those who carry freight versus people pay varying charges. And, business aircraft pay widely varying charges while flying many of the same routes to the same destinations as commercial aircraft.

I think it’s fair to say that everybody has a point here. The question is: how do we have this conversation in a way that achieves a solution that works for all of us?

What will the airspace system look like in 10 years when those operators might also include an airborne version of Uber or Lyft?

Or when space tourists are taking suborbital flights on a daily basis from spaceports scattered across the country – some of them along heavily traveled transcontinental commercial routes?

These are public policy matters that must be addressed by all of our stakeholders.

I can tell you what most interests me and will be needed by future Administrators….

• A steady and reliable funding source;
• Access to capital for infrastructure projects
• Flexibility to utilize the funds in our accounts where needed most; And,
• the freedom to make major purchasing decisions without all of the current impediments. 

There is no business that would invest in major infrastructure projects without some ability to borrow.  No business would invest in new facilities without at least exploring third party financing or innovative development approaches.  

So here’s my challenge to you: Let’s find a way to collaboratively solve these questions.

Let’s find a solution that reflects the best interests of the American people and protects the safety and flexibility of this extremely valuable public asset.

Like our predecessors who came together six decades ago to make sure the world’s most glamorous and exciting form of transportation was also safe, we are at a decision point.

Obviously, we have myriad challenges. But we also have choices. We can each focus our energy on trying to protect what we’ve got – which frankly, is a shortsighted approach.

This industry was founded on the principle that we have the intellectual depth and strength of character to accomplish the impossible.

Today, tens of thousands of commercial flights, operating from a vast network of airports spanning 3.8 million square miles in the U.S. alone, will take off and land safely.

The vast majority will leave their gates on time and they’ll arrive on time. They’ll operate throughout their journeys under the watchful eyes of professional air traffic controllers in an air transportation system that is second to none.

And, as anyone who has ever tried to load up the family minivan and back out of the driveway even close to being on time will remind you:

Doing what we are doing today in aviation is pretty darn close to already doing the impossible.

Thank you for inviting me to be with you today. More importantly, thank you for working with me and my 46,000 colleagues to build and support the largest and most complex and the safest air transportation systems in the world! 

Have a great conference. 

FAA Commercial Space Conference

Remarks as Prepared for Delivery

Good afternoon, everyone. And George, thank you very much. It’s great to be here for this 20^th anniversary conference.

It’s rather intimidating, as well – to be in a room full of rocket scientists. Because, as you all know, I am not a scientist myself.   

But like many of you, when I was growing up, seeing the early Apollo missions in the 1960’s and the 1970’s, I remember the feeling I had when Apollo 11 land on the moon.

You know, those of us who were around then, if you’re as old as I am, you remember Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin taking those first steps. And hearing that crackling sound, but nonetheless the clear voices, as they reported every moment of what they were seeing.

And after seeing that, I think many of us all shared the same ambition. And that was to grow up and to be an astronaut. Who wouldn’t want to do that?

Some of us remember the first time we saw the Space Shuttle. And maybe you saw the live shot of an intrepid pioneer – someone named Sally Ride – to become the first American woman who flew in space.

Today is an important anniversary. February 7^th marks the anniversary during Space Shuttle Challenger’s fourth flight. Astronaut Bruce McCandless untethered himself from a lifeline and became the first human to fly alone in space.

Now he used a gas-operated jet-pack to power himself more than 300 feet away from the Shuttle and back again. But he did that while they were both streaking in tandem at about 17,500 miles per hour above the blue Earth below.

Now it’s moments like these that make many of us dream about what the next giant leap is going to look like. It’s made us wonder what we could do, and how far we might be able to go.

Now of course, I, like a lot of people, grew up and realized – came to grips with the realization, that not everyone can be an astronaut. But that doesn’t mean that all of us can’t play a meaningful role.

And that’s what I think unites everyone in the room here today. In your own way, each person in this room is building on the legacy of those early space missions.

Democratization of Space
Space transportation, as you all know, is no longer the exclusive domain of the government. The industry is accomplishing something truly remarkable. It’s what George Whitesides of Virgin Galactic, calls the “democratization of space.”

And we’re seeing more launches. And we’re seeing more types of vehicles, carrying more types of payloads, from more launch sites than we have ever had before.

And just look at the history-making feats that you in this industry have accomplished just in the last year:

• Blue Origin demonstrated the reusability of its launch vehicle by launching and landing the same rocket multiple times.
• SpaceX has shown repeatedly that it can successfully launch and land its Falcon 9 rocket booster on a barge off of both coasts in a variety of conditions.
• Virgin Galactic was issued its first launch license for the SpaceShipTwo vehicle to begin testing for human suborbital spaceflight.
• The FAA is working with NASA commercial crew partners to begin the licensing process for the first commercial human orbital launches to ferry astronauts to and from the International Space Station. And last year, both Boeing and SpaceX made fantastic headway toward this effort.
• The FAA also issued a positive payload review of Moon Express’s lunar lander, the first payload review of its kind. And this review enables Moon Express to take another step in their effort to compete for the $20 million Google Lunar X Prize. The prize will be awarded to the first privately funded team that can land a robot on the moon and make it travel 500 meters or more.

Today, what we’re seeing at the FAA is a 55% increase in the number of applications compared to this time last year.

Now these applications include some innovative launch concepts. They include small payload launch vehicles, balloons, and carrier aircraft.  

But the enormously high cost that we have traditionally faced in getting into orbit and ensuring safety remain big issues that we need to continue to work on. And the companies that can continue to make space transportation the safest and the most cost-effective will help us to achieve those next giant steps.

And in many ways, we’re seeing it happen already. A few years ago we weren’t talking a whole lot about reusable rockets. And now, they’ve become almost routine.

A New Space Economy
Now, through feats like these, people who dare to dream, innovate and invent are establishing a new space economy.

As the commercial space industry continues to push the boundaries of what might be possible, we will see the growth of industries that are now only in their infancy.

Industries such as asteroid mining, commercial space stations, point-to-point suborbital transportation – all of these are on the horizon.

And one day, the commercial space industry may even be part of our national goal to deliver humans to another planet – to Mars.

Now I heard something the other day that, at least for me, put that goal in perspective. If you use our history with the Apollo program as a guide, Neil Armstrong was 38 years old when he walked on the moon. Now based on current estimates, that would mean that the first person to walk on Mars is somewhere out there – maybe in middle school, maybe a little older. And they’re thinking about and beginning to dream what that might be like.

Now the industry is becoming more complex as it grows. And this makes it more challenging for all of us at the FAA to regulate and to integrate these operations into our national airspace system.

For example, we’re seeing how this complexity affects our policy on how space ports might be classified.

As you might imagine and you well know, a wide range of commercial space launch vehicles could potentially operate from a commercial launch site.

These run the gamut from the large, classic vertically launched rockets to the more modern winged vehicles that could take off like an airplane.

We’ve seen countless variations and combinations in between, including balloons that can carry capsule gondolas to the very edge of space.

Now because of this range, it’s time to look at how we at the FAA designate launch sites. The simple fact is, not every commercial space launch site, or “spaceport,” can safely accommodate all of these types of launches.

So we need to work with you in industry to discuss how to develop a system for categorizing the various types of spaceports that are out there being talked about and being considered.

We are examining several possibilities for the best way to incorporate a categorization scheme into the decision-making process so that we all have greater clarity on the availability and the use of various sites.

And this will also be helpful to potential spaceport operators and other stakeholders – to understand the factors for safely conducting commercial space launches.

And as launches ramp up, we’re looking at how we integrate commercial space operations into our national airspace system.

Now up until now, our airspace and our procedures have been built for traditional aircraft – aircraft that fly horizontally from Point A to Point B.

Every time we license a commercial space launch, it’s effectively an exception to the rules of operating in the airspace.

Now thinking ahead, what does that system look like when we have more and more operations that can climb vertically to 100,000 feet in a matter of seconds and descend almost as quickly?

Well until now, we’ve tended to think of them as rare events, and we block off huge swaths of airspace each time a launch occurs.

We know this is not sustainable. And we want to develop a more sustainable traffic management system that will enable this industry to thrive as a regular player in a larger air traffic system.

You may be aware that the FAA has been prototyping a tool called the Space Data Integrator. This tool – we call it SDI – receives time-accurate data directly from the launch or reentry vehicle, formats it, and routes it to the FAA’s air traffic systems and is used by air traffic controllers.

This data could help us determine in advance of a launch, or a reentry operation, how much airspace to block off to ensure that the operation is safe, without imposing too much of a burden on the other users of the system. And it could also help us to release blocked airspace more quickly so it’s available to the other users of the system.

In December, we tested SDI during the United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V launch of the Echostar-19 from Cape Canaveral.

The comments from air traffic controllers on the initial run were extremely positive.

They see the benefits of this capability, and we’re going to continue to conduct these exercises at all of the upcoming launches at Cape Canaveral.

Now we’re also exploring the feasibility of providing space situational awareness data to commercial space operators. This data includes things like the location of space debris and how that might conflict with a space operation.

As you know, this is a service that is currently provided by the Department of Defense.  

The FAA and the Defense Department are now working through a number of technical and legal issues to see if it makes sense to create a Civil Space Situational Awareness system.

Now there are still many, many factors that we need to consider, and I expect that we’ll be having a lot of thoughtful discussions before we can determine whether this is a mission that the FAA should take on. But it is something that it’s important that we get right. And we want to work with you in doing this.

Inspiring a New Generation
As I look out in the room, I’m thinking a bit more about the successes that you have had in the commercial space industry. And the accomplishments that you’ve achieved – not only in the last year, but in the last several years.

And it dawns on me that while you followed in the footsteps of the men and women who inspired you… the industry collectively, all of you individually, are inspiring yet another generation of dreamers in the young people of this country.

Just imagine the kids that are sitting at home and what their reaction will be to seeing a robot – privately developed – roll across the surface of the moon.

Or when they hear the first commercial space tourists come back and talk about seeing the curvature of the earth with their own eyes.

Or watching that first person when they set foot on Mars.

It’s the private sector that is taking the lead in helping us to accomplish all of these goals.

And at the FAA, we look forward to working with you for that next giant leap – whatever it might be.

So I thank you very much for joining us today. And I hope you have a great conference. Best of luck to you.

Drones: A Story of Revolution and Evolution

Good morning everyone, and thank you for joining us here today.  I hope you had a great holiday, and I want to wish you all a very Happy New Year.

For 50 years, the Consumer Electronics Show has been the place where technology meets everyday life. In the past, that wouldn’t be a place where you’d expect to meet someone from the FAA.

But, with its eager embrace of drone technology, CES has soared into the frontier of aviation. And that means this is exactly where we need to be.

We have a whole FAA team staffing a booth down in the drone marketplace. They’re available to answer questions and get any feedback that attendees have to offer. I encourage you all to stop by for a visit.

For me personally, this is my second straight year visiting CES. And I have to tell you, I find the array of products on display to be just as spectacular as I did a year ago. Maybe even more so.

There is cutting-edge innovation all around us: Artificial intelligence. Virtual reality. Wearables. Digital imaging. And, of course, drones.

Since my last visit here, the story of drones has continued to be a story of revolution and evolution.

Revolution in the technology and how it’s being used. And evolution in the way we, the FAA, are approaching integrating this new entrant into the National Airspace System.

Our challenge is to find the right balance where safety and innovation co-exist on relatively equal planes. I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say we have accomplished more toward this goal in the past year than we did in all previous years combined.

We worked with industry to establish the first set of comprehensive rules for flying small unmanned aircraft.

We established a Drone Advisory Committee and held our first annual unmanned aircraft symposium.

We’re researching everything from how to detect rogue drones to managing future drone traffic.

And we’re redesigning our website to make it more user-friendly for consumers.

With so many people channeling so much energy toward innovation, it’s hard to predict what the next great technological breakthrough in the drone field will be. But one thing is certain: our challenges are only going to get more complicated.

The sheer number of drones entering our airspace is a case in point. Just like last year, drones were one of the hottest gift items this past holiday season. 

But unlike a lot of holiday gifts, this one is clearly not a fad.

Indeed, our latest aerospace forecast estimates that there could be as many as 7 million drones sold in the United States by 2020. That’s about 2 ½ times the population of the state of Nevada. 

And the pace of change is breathtaking. It seems like someone is coming up with a new way to use drones every day.

Just this week, the city of Henderson and the Nevada Institute for Autonomous Systems broke ground on a new drone testing range located near Nevada State College.    

With both technology and innovation blazing ahead at warp speed, we know that as regulators, we have to lean forward. We have to approach our challenges with the same kind of creativity and open-mindedness that is fueling the drone revolution.

We also know that for us to be successful, we cannot dictate from above. We must work in close collaboration and partnership with the industry and those who fly unmanned aircraft for both recreation and commercial purposes.

So instead of telling the drone industry and drone operators what they can’t do, we’re helping them do what they want to do – while ensuring they operate safely.

That’s the approach we took with the small unmanned aircraft rule.

The rule, which took effect in August, enables people to fly drones for non-hobby purposes without getting specific authorization from the FAA – provided they operate within certain parameters.

As long as the operator earns a Remote Pilot Certificate, he or she can fly a registered drone weighing less than 55 pounds, during the daytime, up to 400 feet above ground level in uncontrolled airspace.

With the FAA’s permission, drone operators can fly in controlled airspace. And drone operators seeking to conduct expanded operations – at night time, over people, or beyond the pilot’s visual line of sight – can request a waiver.

In the four months since this rule went into effect, more than 30,000 people have started the Remote Pilot Application process. About 16,000 have taken the Remote Pilot Knowledge Exam, and almost 90 percent have passed. 

The next step in this evolution is to allow small unmanned aircraft to be flown over people under specific circumstances.

As many of you know, we’ve been working diligently on a proposed rule to allow just that, building on the foundation from the advisory rulemaking committee we convened last spring.

Allowing unmanned aircraft to fly over people raises safety questions because of the risk of injury to those underneath in the event of a failure.

It also raises security issues. As drone flights over people become more and more commonplace, imagine the challenge of a local police officer at a parade trying to determine which drones are properly there to photograph the festivities – and which may be operated by individuals with more sinister purposes.

The process of working with our interagency partners to reconcile these challenges is taking time. In addition, meetings conducted with industry stakeholders as part of the rulemaking process have raised a number of issues.

But you have my steadfast commitment to doing all I can to advance this effort. And we will be looking to our industry partners to develop more ingenious ways to ensure drones can fly over people without sacrificing safety or security.

And further down the road, we’re going to implement rules that will allow routine unmanned aircraft operations beyond the pilot’s visual line of sight.

This need to involve all stakeholders in framing challenges and finding solutions drove a pair of important new initiatives last year.

One was the formation of the Drone Advisory Committee, or DAC for short. The other was our decision to hold an annual unmanned aircraft symposium.

We formed the DAC last summer. It’s chaired by Intel CEO Brian Krzanich, and its members include representatives from the industry, government, labor and academia.

This allows us to look at drone use from every angle, while considering the different viewpoints and needs of this diverse community.

The group held its first meeting in September, and they’ve started work on helping us determine two important things:

• What the highest-priority UAS operations are and how industry can gain access to the airspace to conduct these operations.
• And identifying the roles and responsibilities of drone operators, manufacturers, and federal, state, and local officials related to drone use in populated areas.

The DAC’s next meeting will be held here in Nevada later this month – up north in Reno.

A number of our DAC members will also be participating in the second annual unmanned aircraft symposium in the Washington, DC, area in March. The symposium is really the ultimate exercise in democracy. Anyone who registers has the opportunity to talk face-to-face with federal regulators and industry representatives about regulations, research and integration initiatives.

These kinds of frank conversations are critical as we begin to tackle the bigger challenges that integration poses. And they’re helping to inform the work that the DAC undertakes.

During the upcoming symposium, these conversations will touch on the intersection of privacy and preemption. The importance of harmonizing global regulations so they’re the same if you’re flying in London or Long Island.

And they’ll also touch on the array of new safety and security risks associated with this pioneering form of aviation.

These risks include users who do not understand what it means to fly safely. People who don’t think they should be regulated and are determined to operate as they please. And actual bad actors, such as criminals and terrorists, who seek to use unmanned aircraft for malicious purposes.

Just as there’s a broad range of risks, so too is there a broad range of potential tools to address these risks.

One of our most important tools is education. And one of our most important education initiatives is the drone registry that we implemented just before Christmas 2015.

In the past year, more than 670,000 drone users have registered aircraft – including more than 37,000 during the last two weeks of December. All of these people have received our important safety messages that are part of the registration process.  

And our B4UFLY app alerts operators to airspace restrictions or requirements in effect in the areas where they want to fly.  

While education will always be a fundamental underpinning of safety, sometimes it is not enough.

For example, despite our education efforts, we’re seeing an increasing number of drone-sighting reports from pilots. We had about 1,800 in 2016, compared to about 1,200 the year before.

So we’re working closely with other government agencies and some of our Pathfinder Partners on a drone-detection security effort.

This involves testing technologies designed to detect unauthorized drone operations near airports and other critical infrastructure, or in unauthorized airspace.

We’ve evaluated some of these technologies around airports in New York, Atlantic City and Denver, and will be doing additional research at Dallas-Fort Worth later this year.  

We will use the data and findings from these evaluations to draft recommendations for standards. These standards will help inform airport operators nationwide who are considering installing drone-detection systems.

One of the many things we have learned during the past few years is that when it comes to drones, the future can become the present in the blink of an eye. With this in mind, we have to figure out how to manage drone traffic in airspace that is shared with manned aircraft.

Toward that end, we’re working with NASA to develop a concept for an unmanned aircraft traffic management system – an effort called UTM.

At the unmanned aircraft test site here in Nevada, the University of Nevada-Reno is helping NASA conduct tests to support this effort.  

This past October, they flew – and tracked – five drones at the same time beyond the pilot’s visual line of sight from Reno-Stead Airport. Each drone accomplished a separate simulated task, including looking for a lost hiker, covering a sporting event, monitoring wildlife and surveying environmental hazards.

Tests like these will help build the foundation for managing much greater amounts of drone traffic in the coming years.

In all of the work we’re doing, we are not forgetting about the needs of the individual consumer. We’re designing a common web portal that will act as one-stop-shop for all unmanned aircraft interactions with the FAA.

It will allow drone owners and operators to register their aircraft, apply for an airspace authorization or waiver, file an accident report and keep abreast of the latest FAA news and announcements about unmanned aircraft.

It will be designed for desktops, laptops, tablets and phones, and will serve as the platform for future communication with the FAA as unmanned aircraft rules and regulations evolve.

The progress that we have made during the past year would have seemed unimaginable not long ago.

It’s a great start, but it’s just the beginning.

We know there are many important issues yet to be addressed. And we know we can’t do it alone.

We will always need the input and expertise of all of our stakeholders, so we can craft the right kinds of policies and solutions to the challenges before us.

CES will continue to be a valuable forum, where we can give and take information, as we work our way down this path.

Thank you for joining us here today and being part of this journey.

Part 23 Press Conference

Hello everyone, and thank you for joining us.

This is an exciting day for the FAA, for the aviation and manufacturing industries, and for pilots across the country.

I’m pleased to announce that we’ve issued a final rule overhauling the FAA’s airworthiness standards for small general aviation airplanes.

The rule will usher in a new era of safety and innovation for general aviation in America.

It establishes performance-based standards for aircraft that weigh less than 19,000 pounds and with 19 or fewer seats.

It also adds new certification standards to address loss-of-control – the number one cause of fatal general aviation accidents.

This rule, which is better known as Part 23, is an exciting breakthrough for the aviation industry and our economy as a whole.

Aviation manufacturing is our nation’s top export, and general aviation alone contributes approximately $80 billion and 400,000 jobs to our economy.

By encouraging innovation and increasing flexibility, the new Part 23 will allow American businesses to create good manufacturing jobs and better compete in the global market.

Additionally, we are harmonizing Part 23 with our international counterparts to reduce certification costs for manufacturers who want to export their products.

This rule is critical to maintaining and increasing America’s role as the world leader in aviation innovation and safety.

It demonstrates that we can simultaneously enhance safety and reduce burdens on industry.

And it represents a fundamental shift in how the FAA approaches certification.

For a long time, we told manufacturers how to build a safe airplane. We required specific technologies with precise design elements.

But this system became strained as the industry evolved.

Companies have made tremendous strides forward in aircraft design. And as they kept coming to us with new ideas, our certification processes struggled to keep up.

To address this, we made some improvements around the edges over the years. But they were often incremental and independent from one another.

It became obvious that we needed a complete overhaul in how we certify aircraft if we wanted to increase safety and help products get to market faster.

We needed to rethink how we function as a regulator.

There’s a simple idea at the heart of our new airworthiness standards: we don’t want to tell manufacturers how to build things.

Instead of requiring certain technologies or designs, we’re defining the performance objectives we want to achieve.

This approach recognizes that there’s more than one way to deliver on safety – and it provides room for flexibility and innovation in the marketplace.

Part 23 is an important step forward in the FAA’s efforts to increase safety by incorporating risk-based decision-making into everything we do.

By making it easier, faster, and less expensive to get safety-enhancing technologies into small airplanes, we will continue to reduce the number of fatal general aviation accidents and save lives.

It was a huge undertaking – truly one of the most extensive and challenging rewrites ever tackled by our agency.

And it wouldn’t have been possible without the hard work of our team at the FAA. My sincere thanks go out to everyone across the agency who contributed to the new Part 23.

We also couldn’t have gotten this rule across the finish line without the input and buy-in from stakeholders in the general aviation and manufacturing communities.

This rule is a model of what we can accomplish for American competitiveness when government and industry work together.

We have several of our partners here with us today, who are going to share how our new certification standards will benefit their companies and constituents.

First, we have Simon Caldecott, President and CEO of Piper Aircraft. He also serves as the Chairman of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association.

We’re also joined by Brad Mottier from GE Aviation, who serves as the Vice President and General Manager of Business and General Aviation and Integrated Systems.

And finally, we have Joe Brown, President of Hartzell Propeller.

I’d also like to acknowledge Senator Amy Klobuchar and Congressman Mike Pompeo, who have been big supporters of this rule and general aviation as a whole.

Senator Klobuchar and Congressman Pompeo weren’t able to be here today, but they sent representatives from their offices, and we’re pleased to have them.

Now, let me turn things over to Simon Caldecott.

FAA Caribbean Initiative