Missouri and Nebraska ‘drone journalism’ programs grounded by FAA
For most of the year, the journalism programs at the University of Missouri and the University of Nebraska have used unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) or drones to capture footage from “hard-to-reach” news sites like natural disasters.
Octocopter for aerial drone photography
Image/Video Screen Shot
In fact, the Missouri drone journalism program has produced newsworthy stories on a prairie fire in Missouri and more recently, an excavation site at Cahokia Mounds in Collinsville, Illinois.
Now the drones are grounded, at least temporarily.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has contacted the journalism programs of both schools ordering them to stop flying the drones outdoors until they obtain government authorization.
Pham writes, “Through the eight months the Missouri Drone Journalism Program has operated, we’ve flown under the guidelines the FAA has set down for remote control aircraft. Those guidelines are generally as follows: a pilot may not fly above 400 feet, over populated areas, or near airports. A pilot may not fly beyond his range of sight, or without manual control.”
However, since the University is considered a “public agency”, they are required to obtain a Certificateof Authorization (COA), which will require the program to spend a semester researching and applying for a COA.
Pham says they will of course get the COA; however, it will place certain restrictions on the program. “We will only be able to fly outdoors when within a single, small, contiguous airspace that is not a populated area. Any photography we obtain with the drone will be within this small space,” Pham said.
The Kansas City Star reports that the fall course for the drone journalism program might now be canceled because of low registration.
