Press Release: Statement of Brian Wynne, President and CEO of AUVSI On the FAA Granting Amazon an Experimental Airworthiness Certificate

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For Immediate Release – March 19, 2015

Contact: James Tyll, (571) 255-7786, jtyll@auvsi.org 

  

Statement of Brian Wynne, President and CEO of AUVSI

On the FAA Granting Amazon an Experimental Airworthiness Certificate



Arlington, VA – Today, Brian Wynne, president & CEO of the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI), released the following statement on the FAA’s decision to grant Amazon an experimental airworthiness certificate to operate UAS in the U.S.:



“Companies like Amazon are at the forefront of technological advances and are investing heavily in research and development. It is important to ensure that innovative uses of UAS technology, such as package delivery, take off in the U.S.”



“Industry and government also need to work together to lay the groundwork for beyond-line-of-sight operations, a necessary prerequisite for package delivery and other transformational uses of UAS technology.”



AUVSI previously supported Amazon’s request for a Section 333 exemption to test its package delivery system in the U.S. and urged the agency to consider other low-risk commercial applications. The Section 333 application is still pending.



“Amazon’s exemption adequately addressed the safety requirements in a number of federal aviation regulations, and there is a compelling need for the FAA to allow Amazon to test their systems to ensure the next evolution in package delivery happens in the U.S. first,” AUVSI wrote in its official comments to the FAA on Amazon’s request. “We hope the FAA uses any and all means to allow Amazon to test their systems domestically in a safe and responsible manner.”



Earlier this year, in testimony before the House Science Committee, Wynne called for a deeper national commitment to UAS research and development. Specifically, Wynne called for a comprehensive industry-government UAS research plan, more resources for the federal government to coordinate UAS research, and intellectual property protections for the companies that participate in UAS research and development.



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The Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) — the world's largest nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of unmanned systems and robotics— represents more than 7,500 members from 60+ allied countries involved in the fields of government, industry and academia. AUVSI members work in the defense, civil and commercial markets.