In another effort to implement unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) into the national airspace, FAA announced today that they are streamlining the process for obtaining Certificates of Waiver Authorizations (COA).
No longer will Section 333 exemption holders have to obtain a COA for each location that a mission will be flown. Instead, FAA has issued a blanket COA for any mission conducted by a Section 333 exemption holder that stays below 200 feet AGL. Missions above 200 feet and close to airports will still need an individual COA.
ERM has experienced frustration in obtaining a COA and apparently the process has been no smoother for actual exemption holders. We are glad to see FAA avert a train wreck. UAS Magazine reported more details on the policy shift and indicated that the FAA is working on a process to streamline processing Section 333 exemption requests.