The US Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has given approval for energy company BP and unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) manufacturer AeroVironment to fly the first commercial drone over American land.
The FAA issued a certificate of waiver or authorisation to survey BP pipelines, roads and equipment at Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, a major oilfield in the US.
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The AeroVironment Puma AE drone completed its first commercial flight on 8 June.
Transportation secretary Anthony Foxx said these surveys on Alaska’s North Slope are another important step toward broader commercial use of unmanned aircraft.
"The technology is quickly changing, and the opportunities are growing," Foxx said.
The Puma AE is a small, hand-launched drone, measuring about 4.5ft in length, with a wingspan of 9ft.
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By GlobalDataUsing the data generated by the Puma’s sensors, BP plans to target maintenance activities on specific roads and infrastructure, which will save time and also support safety and operational reliability goals, while protecting the sensitive North Slope environment.
In mid-2013, the FAA issued restricted category type certificates to the Puma and Insitu’s Scan Eagle drone, limiting aerial surveillance only to Arctic waters.
The data sheet modification of Puma’s restricted category type certificate to allow operations over land comes after AeroVironment demonstrated the capability of the drone to perform such flights safely.
FAA Administrator Michael Huerta said: "The 2012 reauthorisation law tasks us with integrating small UAS in the Arctic on a permanent basis. This operation will help us accomplish the goal set for us by Congress."
