14 DAY TRIAL // Amazon's plans to switch to delivery drones to send packages to customers across the United States might be put on hold for the moment as the Federal Aviation Administration and Department of Transportation have proposed a new set of rules that ban unmanned aircraft from flying without being within a pilot's line of sight.
The new regulations (PDF document here), which are still subject to public approval, state that drone operators are not allowed to drop cargo from the flying aircraft, so Amazon's plans to adopt this new delivery system would be entirely forbidden if the rules go through.
At the same time, the FAA says that drones must fly under 500 feet (150 meters) altitude and also states that operators must be at least 17 years old and have “an unmanned aircraft operator certificate with a small UAS rating” which would never expire.
Last but not least, drones must fly at a maximum speed of 100 mph (160 km/h ground speed) and they must not be operated over any persons that are not directly involved in the process.
Amazon's plan could still see daylight
Interestingly enough, Amazon doesn't see the new regulations as a complete ban for its program, and the company says that it would continue to seek approval for delivering packages with drones only in states that allow such a shipping method.
The FAA rules clearly state that packages must not be dropped from drones and aircraft must remain within the visual sight of the pilot, so it's pretty clear that Amazon needs to find a way around these regulations, without putting people's safety at risk in any way.
Basically, if the new rules get the go-ahead, not everyone can get a drone anymore and it would be really hard for Americans and companies based in the country to develop business around this new technology.
FAA could require periodic tests of drone operators and make aircraft inspections mandatory at a specific interval, so there's no doubt that a business based entirely on drones could actually be more expensive than alternative systems.
Right now, there's no deadline for the new legislation to get the public' approval, but that could take up to a couple of years until it happens, so Amazon has every reason to pursue its plans to make delivery drones possible as soon as possible.