FAA Administrator Talks Drones at SXSW

At an event co-hosted by CompTIA, FAA Administrator Michael Huerta led a lively panel discussion about the future of unmanned aircraft at South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, TX. The panel included a diverse group of innovative thinkers from industry and government. 

In his opening remarks, Administrator Huerta outlined recent progress on several initiatives, including the FAA’s unmanned aircraft registration system, the MicroUAS aviation rulemaking committee that delivered recommendations to the FAA on April 1, and the FAA’s B4UFLY app for iOS and Android devices.  At the event, he noted that partnerships among the FAA, industry and other government agencies are key to safely and expeditiously integrating unmanned aircraft into our skies.  The panel discussion included representatives from NASA, Amazon Prime Air, Intel, PrecisionHawk, Aerobo and Fresh Air Educators.  

Topics included steps to speed integration while maintaining high levels of safety, future uses for UAS, research on how to safely expand UAS operations, and ways to spread the FAA's safety message to even more UAS pilots.  One message that came through from the participants was that partnerships between government and industry are essential to educating the public on how to fly carefully and to safely integrating unmanned aircraft into the nation's airspace. 

For more information, contact Sarah Matz at [email protected].