Patrick Byrnes and Matthew Kalas Comment on FAA-Funded Report on Risks of Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration in Drone Life

Attorneys Patrick Byrnes and Matthew Kalas, both members of Locke Lord’s Aviation & Defense group based in Chicago, commented on an FAA-funded report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine that assesses the risks of unmanned aircraft systems integration. Byrnes said, “The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s report finding that the FAA has taken an “overly conservative approach to safety risk assessments” in attempting to integrate the commercial use of drones into the National Airspace System is a very welcome development, and echoes what many in the industry have been saying for years.” Further, Kalas says the report “may be more pabulum than real food for thought” and that “The Senate Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Committee just a few days prior heard testimony on the pressing need to address the security risks posed by drones, yet the Academies’ assumed as a “guiding principle” to its report that the “introduction of UAS [drones] will not degrade safety or security.””

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