Through my business I have come to realize that the legality of flying unmanned aircraft systems does not really resonate to people and companies. I am a Federal Aviation Administration licensed small UAS operator, I am also licensed with Minnesota Department of Transportation, which is currently the law in Minnesota. Last check, March 2017 there are over 500 FAA licensed operators, but only 40 are licensed with MN DOT.
I know it sounds crazy that a small toy, in many instances, must be licensed, but it is what it is and in Minnesota it is a little more complicated (more on that later). I speak on this to many businesses because it is so important as a business owner, president or employee. There have been businesses issued very large fines by the FAA for operating illegally. In June of 2016, a Minnesota man was issued a $55,000 fine for operating a drone illeagly. In 2015, a Chicago company was fined $1.9 million, but was later reduced to $200,000. The issue is, enforcement of illegal use will continue to grow as more operators take to the skies and I don't want to see the legal fees associated with taking on the FAA, nor do I want to see anyone else have to fight this battle.
Recently, I have taken a different approach, and talk as less about the legal mumbo jumbo, but it is still so important. There are many companies operating without the proper licensing and I want everyone to succeed, enjoy and grow the industry. I run into many businesses that say "Well, we have a drone already." Trying to explain to them the licensing and fines that can occur is hard sometimes. I would rather see thousands of companies flourish in the UAS industry rather than see one fail to improper licensing and following the guidelines set forth.
Back to Minnesota. Minnesota is somewhat unique in that any person that operates an aircraft, yes drones are now aircraft, for commercial purposes must be registered with the state, have an operators license with the state and show proof of insurance. This is above and beyond what the FAA requires. The reason for this is because the MN DOT applied current aircraft laws to drones, because there was not anything specific to drones or UAS.
That said, there is a bill currently in legislation that would exempt UAS and current the fees associated with registration to $25, a lower price than the $100 minimum for aircraft from 0 - $500,000 value. This is only for registration and does not affect the commercial operators license or proof of insurance.
So, skills and knowledge of flying UAS are important and they should be founded on a solid base of properly licensed operators.
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