The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) published a list Busting Myths about the FAA and Unmanned Aircraft to discuss misconceptions and misinformation about Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) regulations.
As UAS, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) or drones, if you will, become ever more popular for recreational and eventual commercial use, I thought it would be helpful to share these FAA myth busting topics for your evaluation.
Myth #2: Commercial UAS flights are OK if I’m over private property and stay below 400 feet
Fact—The FAA published a Federal Register notice in 2007 that clarified the agency’s policy: You may not fly a UAS for commercial purposes by claiming that you’re operating according to the Model Aircraft guidelines (below 400 feet, 3 miles from an airport, away from populated areas.) Commercial operations are only authorized on a case-by-case basis. A commercial flight requires a certified aircraft, a licensed pilot and operating approval. To date, only one operation has met these criteria, using Insitu’s ScanEagle, and authorization was limited to the Arctic. ( http://www.faa.gov/news/updates/?newsId=73981)