Federal Aviation Administration; Assessment of Compliance with and Effectiveness of Registration for Small Unmanned Aircraft

The advent of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) presents important economic and social opportunities for the United States. A major contributor to the proliferation of UAS users in recent years is technological advancement in the ability to produce small unmanned aircraft (sUAS), those UAS weighing less than 55 pounds. Manufacturers can produce sUAS at lower costs, making them more affordable for consumers than ever. As the number of sUAS increases over time, so do reports, including several highly publicized incidents, of potentially unsafe UAS encounters with manned aircraft and people on the ground. Because UAS operate in the national airspace system (NAS), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has primary oversight responsibility for safe operations.

Section 371 of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization Act of 2018 directs the Secretary of Transportation to enter into an agreement with the National Academy of Public Administration (the Academy) to conduct an assessment of the compliance with and effectiveness of the FAA’s registration program for small unmanned aircraft. The assessment will specifically focus on the interim final rule on “Registration and Marking Requirements for Small Unmanned Aircraft” issued on December 16, 2015 (80 Fed. Reg. 78593).