{"id":14145,"date":"2019-11-05T13:05:00","date_gmt":"2019-11-05T13:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/?p=14145"},"modified":"2019-11-05T13:05:02","modified_gmt":"2019-11-05T13:05:02","slug":"during-drone-safety-awareness-week-naaa-urges-uas-operators-to-be-alert-to-low-flying-agricultural-aircraft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/unmanned-systems\/during-drone-safety-awareness-week-naaa-urges-uas-operators-to-be-alert-to-low-flying-agricultural-aircraft\/%20","title":{"rendered":"During Drone Safety Awareness Week, NAAA Urges UAS Operators to be Alert to Low-Flying Agricultural Aircraft"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>As part of the FAA&#8217;s National Drone Safety Awareness Week,\nthe National Agricultural Aviation Association (NAAA) is reminding all Unmanned\nAircraft System (UAS) operators to be aware of low-altitude agricultural\naircraft operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"200\" height=\"161\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/air-tractor-401edit-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-14147\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Agricultural aviators fly as low as 10 feet off the\nground, at speeds up to 140 mph when making an application, meaning they share\nthis low-altitude airspace with UAS,&#8221; said Andrew Moore, Chief Executive\nOfficer of NAAA. &#8220;Aerial applications are labor intensive. Ag pilots are\nlooking for ground-affixed obstacles and trying to ensure precise, targeted\napplications, and studies have shown it is extremely difficult, if not\nimpossible, for manned aircraft pilots to see small UAS. We encourage both\nprofessional and hobbyist UAS operators to be mindful of this, especially when\noperating in rural areas.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To ensure the safety of low-altitude manned aircraft, NAAA\nrecommends UAS operators:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Always give the right-of-way to a manned\naircraft. It&#8217;s the law.<\/li><li>Equip drones with tracking technology, such as\nADS-B, so other similarly equipped aircraft can ascertain their positions.<\/li><li>Get certified and well-trained in operating a\nUAS.<\/li><li>Contact local agricultural aviation operations\nbefore flying by consulting AgAviation.org\/findapplicator.<\/li><li>Equip UASs with visible strobe lights.<\/li><li>Land your UAS immediately when a low-altitude\nmanned aircraft is nearby.<\/li><li>Carry UAS liability insurance.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>In a test conducted by the Colorado Agricultural Aviation\nAssociation and other stakeholders, including manned and unmanned aircraft\norganizations, no pilot operating a manned aircraft could continuously visually\ntrack a 28-inch-wide drone when flying at regular speeds. While they might be\nspotted for a second, UASs are not constantly visible to pilots, meaning it&#8217;s\nup to the drone operator to avoid a collision. When birds hit an ag aircraft,\nthey can break through an aircraft&#8217;s windshield causing deadly accidents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Furthermore, a study conducted by the Alliance for System\nSafety of UAS through Research Excellence (ASSURE) showed UAS collisions with\naircraft cause more damage than would a bird strike of similar size, due\npartially to UASs&#8217; dense motors and batteries, as opposed to a bird made mostly\nof water, feathers, hollow bones and sinew.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While a majority of aerial applications take place in the\nsummer months, aerial applicators continue to work throughout the year applying\ncover crops, fighting fires and making public health applications that control\nhealth-threatening pests such as mosquitos that spread the West Nile, Zika and\nEEE viruses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Aerial applicators treat 127 million acres of cropland\nannually, which means many flights over many different areas during the busy\nseason. Be aware of agricultural and other low-flying manned aircraft this week\nand throughout the year. Learn more at AgAviation.org, Thinkbeforeyoulaunch.com\nand Knowbeforeyoufly.org.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As part of the FAA&#8217;s National Drone Safety Awareness Week, the National Agricultural Aviation Association (NAAA) is reminding all Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) operators to be aware of low-altitude agricultural aircraft operations. &#8220;Agricultural aviators fly as low as 10 feet off the ground, at speeds up to 140 mph when making an application, meaning they [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":14146,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[127],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14145","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-unmanned-systems"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/cessna_188_opt.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14145","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14145"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14145\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14148,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14145\/revisions\/14148"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14146"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14145"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14145"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14145"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}