Critical Thinking Paper

3/25/15
Red Group
Ellie Williams

Critical Thinking Paper: Personal Drone Use

The Federal Aviation Administration should enforce regulations such as flight

restrictions, licensing requirements, and new firmware, on the private use of drones in the
United States, because they endanger peoples safety, privacy, and the governments
security if theyre not properly restricted. Currently anyone can purchase and fly a drone;
this poses a safety risk to anyone near the flight path of the drone. There are restrictions
in place that dont allow drones to fly near airports, however they could still put
helicopters and jets in danger of a collision with a drone. Some civilians are concerned
about a loss of privacy, as drones collect data through cameras, then this data can be
stolen if drones are hacked into. Another risk of private drones flying freely is that they
could be easily armed with guns or bombs, and used against the government in terrorist
style attacks. By restricting the areas where drones can fly, requiring the drone and its
flyer to be licensed, limiting the size of drones, and installing new firmware could
remedy these issues.
Da-Jiang Innovations Science and Technology Company, or DJI sells personal
drones. The DJI website currently sells five models of small personal drones starting
from $479. The most popular model, Phantom 2 Vision+ is sold for $1169. Anyone is
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able to purchase these drones, and fly them without prior training. The flying of drones is
legal at an altitude below 400 feet, and away from airports (Spencer). National Parks
have banned the use of drones because the noise may disrupt wildlife. For commercial
drones, the flyer needs to obtain an airworthiness certificate from the Secretary of
Transportation. This certificate exempts the company from Section 333, which requires a
licensed pilot in all aircrafts (F.A.A.). As of March 26, 69 petitions have been granted to
companies to use drones, and 25 petitions have been closed (F.A.A.). Most companies
use drones for aerial surveys, utility inspections, insurance, agriculture surveys, safety
inspections, and closed-set filming, however personal drones are mainly used for
photography.
When personal drones malfunction or the flyer makes a mistake, the drones can
fly off, this is called a flyaway (Spencer). When drones run out of battery while flying,
they will simply fall out of the sky. This endangers anyone below the drone. There have
already been multiple near misses, and one death (Berry and Syed). Not only can
personal drones affect people on the ground, any mistakes in the air and a drone could
bring down aircrafts like tour helicopters, or jets (Sheets). Both of these situations can be
improved if amateur flyers were required to take an online course in drone safety in order
to get a license to fly their drone. To prevent drones from dropping from the sky, a
landing mechanism could be installed so that instead of dropping when it runs out of

battery, it would slowly descend to the ground (Spencer). Another way to improve drone
safety is to issue a warning to the drone flyer when another aircraft or bird is near, this
could help prevent accidents in the air.
Drones are also capable of carrying bombs and guns, as officials from the US
military, the Department of Homeland Security, and the FAA demonstrated at a summit
about the dangers of hobbyist drones. They showed a clip of drones firing semi-automatic
weapons, and the popular Phantom 2 Vision+ carrying 3 pounds of mock explosives
(Poulsen). Stricter zoning laws would prohibit drones from flying near important places
where they would endanger public and government safety, for example, near Washington
DC and naval or military bases. To do this, drone manufacturers can install firmware
called GPS geofencing, which prevents drones from entering an area (Poulsen).Recently
DJIhasissuedamandatoryfirmwareupdatethatstopstheirdronesfromflyingina15.5
mileradiusaroundtheWhiteHouse.Also, an overall smaller design could limit the
damage a drone could inflict, and also limit the amount of cargo it could carry. These
modifications could protect the government against terrorist drones.
Because personal drones usually carry cameras, the data they collect can be
stolen when drones are hacked (Berry and Syed). These cameras are a privacy issue for
citizens because drones are able to film you while in you are in your yard or even inside
your home. To protect privacy, states need to enact laws that prohibit drones from taking
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photos or videos of private property without permission. Arkansas has recently proposed
a similar bill, and other states should follow suit in order to protect civilian privacy
(Thv11). These laws will not affect hobbyist drone flyers from taking photos of public
land. It also doesnt prohibit drones from flying over private property, as long as they
dont take any photos or videos. This law would ensure everyones privacy is protected.
Issues, such as personal drones dropping out of the sky, affect everyones safety
and need to be addressed if personal drone use continues. Fortunately most of these
issues can be resolved with stronger regulations, changes to the design and firmware of
personal drones, and new design. Proposals such as GPS geofencing (Poulsen) and the
bill proposed in Arkansas to prohibit drones from photographing private property
(Thv11), are both examples of regulations which will remedy issues like privacy and
safety of personal drones. These changes could prevent drones from crashing into people
and other aircrafts; they would also protect government security and civilian privacy.
Some argue that the F.A.A. is treating drone regulation too seriously, and that
drones shouldnt be regarded as manned aircrafts (Steeves). The reality is that drones can
be used as weapons in ways manned aircrafts cannot because they arent carrying a
human. At the summit officials from the military, Department of Homeland Security,
and the FAA demonstrated that $5000 worth of drones could take down a convoy of

armored vehicles (Poulsen). Dangers that arise with personal drones need to be taken
seriously, and regulations cannot only apply to manned aircrafts.
Personal drones should be regulated, because all other aircrafts are. It is standard
procedure to regulate aircrafts for safety of pilots, passengers and others. In this case,
drones dont have pilots or passengers, but can harm others. Personal planes, helicopters,
and hot air balloons are all regulated to preserve safety, and drones should be too.
If the personal drone industry is left without boundaries, everyone is exposed to
the danger of unregulated drones. Our government isnt safe without enforced zoning
restrictions. Without a mechanism to slow a diving drone, civilians are at risk of being
injured or even killed when a drone drops because of dying batteries. People in
helicopters or jets are at risk of a collision if the flyer of a drone hasnt been alerted of
aircrafts nearby. If we allow owners to fly their drones outside of their property without
being trained, everyone is in danger of an accident with a drone. This proves the
regulations are necessary, because action needs to be taken before serious problems arise.

Works Cited
Berry, Michael, and Nabiha Syed. "The possible perils of private drones." The
Washington Post. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Mar. 2015.
<http://www.washingtonpost.com>.
FAA. "Section 333." Federal Aviation Administartion. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Mar. 2015.
<https://www.faa.gov/uas/legislative_programs/section_333/>.
Poulsen, Kevin. "WHY THE US GOVERNMENT IS TERRIFIED OF HOBBYIST
DRONES." Wired. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Mar. 2015.
<http://www.wired.com/2015/02/white-house-drone/>.
Sheets, Conner. "Commercial Drones' Rise Seen As Growing Danger To Traditional
Aircraft." International Business Times. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Mar. 2015.
<http://www.ibtimes.com>.
Spencer, Roy. "Are Personal Drones Dangerous Enough to be Banned?" Global Warming.
N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Mar. 2015. <http://www.drroyspencer.com>.
Steeves, Rich. "Will drone regulations drone on and on?" www.insidecounsel.com. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 29 Mar. 2015. <http://www.insidecounsel.com>.
Thv11. "Arkansas bill would restrict drones on private land." www.thv11.com.
N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Mar. 2015. <http://www.thv11.com/story/news/2015/>.

Annotated Bibliography
Berry, Michael, and Nabiha Syed. "The possible perils of private drones." The
Washington Post. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Mar. 2015.
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2014/09/22/thepossible-perils-of-private-drones/>.
This source shows how personal drones can affect the safety of civilians and of
other aircrafts.
FAA. "Section 333." Federal Aviation Administartion. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Mar. 2015.
<https://www.faa.gov/uas/legislative_programs/section_333/>.
This source presents the current regulations on commercial drones.
Poulsen, Kevin. "WHY THE US GOVERNMENT IS TERRIFIED OF HOBBYIST
DRONES." Wired. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Mar. 2015.
<http://www.wired.com/2015/02/white-house-drone/>.
This source shows how drones could be used as a tool for terrorists.
Sheets, Conner. "Commercial Drones' Rise Seen As Growing Danger To Traditional
Aircraft." International Business Times. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Mar. 2015.
<http://www.ibtimes.com/commercial-drones-rise-seen-growing-dangertraditional-aircraft-1576203>.
This source presents the issues with personal drone use while in the air.
Spencer, Roy. "Are Personal Drones Dangerous Enough to be Banned?" Global Warming.
N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Mar. 2015. <http://www.drroyspencer.com/2014/11/arepersonal-drones-dangerous-enough-to-be-banned/>.

This source shows the opinion of someone contemplating the purchase of a

personal drone, and the dangers that come with owning one.
Steeves, Rich. "Will drone regulations drone on and on?" www.insidecounsel.com. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 29 Mar. 2015. <http://www.insidecounsel.com/2015/03/11/will-droneregulations-drone-on-and-on>.
This source presents an opposing view, where the author compares drone
regulation to early car regulations which were unnecessary and ridiculous.
Thv11. "Arkansas bill would restrict drones on private land." www.thv11.com.
N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Mar. 2015. <http://www.thv11.com/story/news/2015/01/
15/arkansas-bill-would-restrict-drones-on-private-land/21833799/>.
This source showed a news report of a current bill proposed in Arkansas that
would protect civilian privacy.