Say what!?
As of Monday, Feb. 8, there are officially more drones registered in the United States than there are actual piloted aircraft. The FAA did not begin drone registry until Dec. 21, 2015, and in that short time span the number of registered drones has already surpassed the number of registered Cessnas, Dreamliners, Cirruses, Beechcrafts, etc.
At any point in a regular day, around 7,000 passenger and personal planes are flying through U.S. airways. Now with the additional rise in popularity of unmanned drones, things could get a little dicey. Which is why the FAA has required that all drones also be registered. And these registration numbers show just how popular the remote-controlled aircraft are becoming.
So how many drones are there?
While there are 320,000 piloted aircraft registered with the FAA, there have been 325,000 drones registered since just Dec. 21. According to FAA Administrator Michael Huerta, there could actual be more than 325,000 drones out there because each drone registration covers all the drones one person owns, and each operator owns an average of 1.5 drones. Numbers like these are what worries the FAA about midair collisions, and are what encouraged the group to start the registration program in the first place.
“We’re very encouraged by the registration numbers we’ve seen so far,” Huerta said. “We need to bring the unmanned aircraft enthusiasts into the culture that has characterized aviation throughout its history – that is a culture of safety and a culture of responsibility.”
Bad drones, bad drones
Each month the FAA receives approximately 100 reports from aircraft pilots who have seen drones flying near them in the sky. Huerta went on to say, “We won’t hesitate to take strong enforcement actions against anyone who flies unmanned aircraft in an unsafe or illegal manner.” According to Huerta, registration has helped the FAA open 24 investigations into dangerous and illegal drone operations.
All drones owned prior to Dec. 21 must be registered by Feb. 19 and all newly purchased drones must be registered with the FAA before their first flight. Regulations apply to all remote-controlled aircraft 9 or more ounces.
