The FAA is recognizing November 4-10, 2019 as the inaugural National Drone Safety Awareness Week to help educate the public about drone safety by highlighting how key sectors of the drone community are engaging with the public and spreading awareness throughout all 50 states on specific focus areas. It’s also an opportunity for drone stakeholders and users to kick off new safety initiatives.

The FAA is responsible for the safe integration of drones in the National Airspace through regulation. For Part 107 commercial drone operations, the FAA has created a pathway to fly drones in restricted airspace through an “authorization” process. This is because there is greater risk of flying in these areas, often located near commercial airports. In order to gain approved airspace authorizations to operate drones in restricted airspace, you must prove to the FAA that you can conduct your drone flight(s) safely. EagleHawk has had a successful track record and has obtained hundreds of approved airspace authorizations and conducted hundreds of commercial drone flights in restricted airspace, legally and safely.

As a drone services and solutions organization, EagleHawk is committed to recognizing and improving safety measures around drone operations. As an inspection services provider, EagleHawk’s core value proposition is dedicated to safety. Our team of expert pilots are focused on helping companies and institutions improve the safety of their facilities by taking a proactive approach to ensure facilities are up to safety standards.

By using drones, sensors, and thermal imaging technology, EagleHawk can identify areas of concern for large-scale facilities to prevent and improve any hazardous situations. Drone-enabled inspections are faster, easier, more cost-effective, and most importantly, safer than traditional inspection methods that are commonly used such as having a person walk a large commercial roof or scale a tall building facade to look for water damage and masonry issues.

Being a drone pilot can be a stressful job depending on the type of work you are doing. As a drone pilot you’re responsible for:

·         checking airspace

·         filing authorization requests

·         coordinating access

·         pre-planning drone flight paths

·         legal compliance

·         firmware updates

·         flight logging

·         dealing with the interested public or law enforcement;

·         and traffic control.

This checklist plays an important role in what a drone pilot is responsible for managing on every flight, BEFORE a drone is even flown.

Drones continue to be an emerging technology and are becoming an integral part of many industries as their applications will continue to increase over the next several years. The integration of drones into the National Airspace must be done in a safe manner, or it cannot happen at all.

Here are some key safety tips to keep in mind when operating a drone:

·         Fully understand how your drone and controls operate and function to avoid crashes or accidents

·         Always wear protective gear, i.e. neon reflective vest, safety goggles, hard hats

·         Use an observer to keep drone within eyesight while operator is managing controls

·         Be cognizant of weather conditions

·         Communicate with observers to maintain safe distances and to prevent any distractions

·         Avoid flying above or around crowded areas of people and animals

·         Map out flight plans ahead of time when applicable

·         Use common sense

EagleHawk applauds the FAA for creating awareness on drone safety this week and looks forward to continuing to work with the FAA to safely and effectively integrate drone operations to do some really amazing work.