If it weren’t so ludicrous, it could be laughable. Connected is a FOIA request from the FAA that reveals how an egregious regulatory oversight acquired systematically swept beneath the rug. In a nutshell, investigations had been closed, ignoring a 10-plus month lapse in adherence to the stipulations within the BVLOS waiver. Has the lofty aspiration of secure UAS NAS integration gone out the window?
“Adherence to the provisions of this Waiver establishes a degree of security that ensures security inside the nationwide airspace system.” Exhausting to do if you left the corporate ten months prior, no?
You may take a look at the “investigation” paperwork and deduce that there have been no ramifications for jeopardizing the protection of the NAS within the air or folks and property on the bottom. To my information, a phone name between Diana Cooper and Jeremy “The Superb Grogan” put any regulatory and security qualms to mattress. Neither social gathering visited the websites, considered the logbooks, or interviewed a sampling of PICs to
dispute claims or discern the protection ramifications of the waiver infractions. In any case, wasn’t information the purpose of the Pathfinder program?
So what had been the remedial actions taken? Revoke the Half 107.31 BVLOS waiver, fines, and prison costs for the supposed specialists. Was something put in “The Superb Grogan’s” file highlighting how his lack of due diligence endangered the FAA’s security cost? No! Though PrecisionHawk was out of compliance for months, and nobody was accountable for guaranteeing that the operations had been secure they had been issued a brand new waiver briefly order. What number of months have you ever been ready in your Half 107 favor waiver? Does this incident counsel and even show that waivers in some industrial functions are superfluous?
At this level, anybody “settling” or paying an FAA effective is a idiot. Sorry if that sounds harsh, however generally actuality has a manner of doing that. Between this poop present, the ham-fisted lower and pasted up for revenue favor waivers, and people with lobbyists getting preferential remedy within the queue brings the necessity for a waiver dairy farm into query.
The FAA doesn’t like me as a result of I make them look dangerous. LOL
On the native degree, the pinnacle of the FSDO didn’t learn his e mail, missed the unique grievance whereas security violations had been transpiring, and was unaware of BVLOS operations in his FSDO jurisdiction. I needed to name again and ask how the investigation was going to search out out it wasn’t. When the investigation acquired fired up, it consisted of a telephone name. I requested the investigator if she considered the logbooks or met with the particular person accountable for security listed on the waiver. She didn’t know who the precise particular person was listed on the waiver and instructed me the FSDO didn’t have the sources to depart the workplace!
I requested them to reopen an investigation to find out what was occurring. I steered one thing novel like an workplace or flying web site go to, as the protection of the NAS was hanging like a unfastened tooth whereas chatting on the telephone.
I’m the one one shopping for the FAA’s security of the NAS mantra.
Okay, you bag-holders, that $82 billion is on the market simply ready available!
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