Pulse: Public Favors Required Drone Registration

The January LANDTHINK Pulse revealed that a whopping 68.3% of respondents said they are in agreement with the recent Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ruling, requiring drones to be registered. However, the percentage in favor of required drone registration were divided on privacy rights. Over half of those in agreement with registration (37.9%) thought the information should be public, and 30.4% thought the information should remain private.

On December 21, 2015, the FAA implemented its mandatory drone registration policy, requiring all drone operators 13 years of age or older to register their unmanned aircraft that weigh between 0.55 and 55 pounds. The FAA charges a $5 application fee per registration, but it is valid for 3 years and allows owners to register multiple drones. There is a provision that allows the drone owner to cancel registration if the drone is sold or they simply discontinue use. The FAA states that “failure to register an aircraft may result in regulatory and criminal sanctions”.

The January Pulse posed the following question to our LANDTHINK audience: Do you agree with the FAA ruling, requiring drones to be registered?

There’s no doubt the LANDTHINK audience is all for required drone registration, but nearly half are concerned with the privacy factor of required registration. Only 31.6% of respondents said “NO”, they DO NOT agree with required drone registration. Those that are in favor of required drone registration likely feel that it is good thing, because it holds operators accountable for their actions if their drone is involved in an incident. With the new registry, authorities can track down owners and operators, and this alone could serve as a deterrent from flying the drone dangerously, illegally, or with the intent of causing harm. For the time being, it appears the names and home addresses of those on the registry will be made available to the public.

A recent statement by the FAA to Forbes reads as follows:

“Until the drone registry system is modified, the FAA will not release names and address. When the drone registry system is modified to permit public searches of registration numbers, names and addresses will be revealed through those searches.”

At a press conference, FAA Administrator Michael Huerta told the media that more than 325,000 drones have been registered since the new rule took effect- that surpasses the current 320,000 piloted aircraft registered with the agency.

Here are the final results of our informal survey:

• 37.9% said YES, but the information should be PUBLIC
• 31.6% said NO, I don’t agree
• 30.4% said YES, and the information should remain PRIVATE

Once again, we received a strong response from subscribers, fans, followers and land industry professionals all across the country. Thank you to everyone who participated and shared the Pulse with friends and connections in the land industry!

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