WASHINGTON, D.C. — Chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Peter DeFazio (D-OR), Ranking Member Sam Graves (R-MO), Chair of the Subcommittee on Aviation Rick Larsen (D-WA), and Subcommittee Ranking Member Garret Graves (R-LA) are requesting the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) review efforts by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to integrate unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) into the National Airspace System (NAS). UAS continue to provide Americans many social and economic benefits and have proven themselves to be critical tools in supporting numerous industry activities and public safety efforts, including aiding in disaster and wildfire response and search and rescue missions. According to the FAA, there are nearly 1.8 million FAA-registered UAS and more than 200,000 certified remote UAS pilots in the United States.

“The emergence and continued growth of UAS is expected to provide significant social and economic benefits in the United States,” the Members wrote. “UAS operations offer a virtually unlimited number of potential applications, including inspecting critical infrastructure, surveying rural lands and agricultural crops, and delivering medical supplies and packages to a consumer’s backyard. Additionally, UAS have already proven themselves to be critical tools in supporting public safety by aiding in disaster and wildfire response and search and rescue missions, among others.”

“Over the years, the FAA has initiated numerous efforts to further the research and development of integration efforts as well,” the Members continued, “All these efforts sound promising, but lack of clarity about how they will come together for safe UAS integration is a cause for concern. For example, it is unclear to the Committee how the BEYOND program, related rulemakings, other research, and technology development efforts, as well as operational and budget considerations, will coalesce to help realize tangible UAS integration in the NAS.”

The Members concluded by requesting GAO study the status of the FAA’s UAS integration efforts, including the BEYOND program, and identify to what extent have these efforts been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. They also requested GAO seek input from interested stakeholders regarding any additional steps necessary to address UAS integration challenges and evaluate how the FAA intends for its efforts on a number of fronts to culminate in full and safe UAS integration.

The full letter text can be found below and here.

February 24, 2021

The Honorable Gene Dodaro

Comptroller General of the United States

U.S. Government Accountability Office

441 G Street NW

Washington, DC 20548

Dear Comptroller General Dodaro:

Last month, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reported nearly 1.8 million registered unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and more than 200,000 certified remote UAS pilots in the United States.[1] The emergence and continued growth of UAS is expected to provide significant social and economic benefits in the United States. UAS operations offer a virtually unlimited number of potential applications, including inspecting critical infrastructure, surveying rural lands and agricultural crops, and delivering medical supplies and packages to a consumer’s backyard. Additionally, UAS have already proven themselves to be critical tools in supporting public safety by aiding in disaster and wildfire response and search and rescue missions, among others.

The FAA is conducting a phased approach to incrementally and safely integrate existing and planned UAS operations into the National Airspace System (NAS). Since 2014, the agency has made progress in developing rulemakings, working with government and industry stakeholders, and collaborating with research organizations on efforts related to UAS integration. For example, the FAA finalized two rules in late 2020 requiring the remote identification of UAS[2] and allowing more routine operations over people and at night under certain circumstances.[3] The FAA has also issued various planning documents, including the third edition of its UAS integration roadmap, which sets forth a 5-year strategy for integration.[4]

Over the years, the FAA has initiated numerous efforts to further the research and development of integration efforts as well. These efforts include the agency’s Center of Excellence for UAS Research—the Alliance for System Safety of UAS through Research Excellence (ASSURE),[5] UAS test site program,[6] and the UAS Integration (IPP)[7] and UAS Traffic Management[8] Pilot Programs, among others. The IPP concluded late last year and transitioned to the BEYOND program,[9] through which the FAA is “tackling the remaining challenges of UAS integration,” including studying beyond-visual-line-of-sight operations, leveraging industry operations to better analyze the benefits of UAS operations, and focusing on community engagement efforts to collect, analyze, and address community concerns.[10]

All these efforts sound promising, but lack of clarity about how they will come together for safe UAS integration is a cause for concern. For example, it is unclear to the Committee how the BEYOND program, related rulemakings, other research, and technology development efforts, as well as operational and budget considerations, will coalesce to help realize tangible UAS integration in the NAS. Recent GAO reports on UAS safety compliance, the UAS test site program, and potential fee mechanisms for FAA services all show that the FAA faces a range of challenges to successful and timely integration. The COVID-19 pandemic has also added uncertainty to the agency’s implementation timelines given the need for stakeholders to collaborate and engage in real-world testing.

As such, we are requesting a GAO review that includes the input of interested stakeholders and addresses the following questions:

1. What is the status of the FAA’s UAS integration efforts, including the BEYOND program, and to what extent have these efforts been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic?
2. How and when are the FAA’s various UAS integration efforts intended to culminate in regular UAS operations that are fully and safely integrated into the NAS?
3. What are the lessons learned from past integration efforts, and how does the FAA plan to address them?
4. According to industry stakeholders, what additional steps are needed to address any UAS integration challenges?
5. How will the FAA measure progress and benefits made with the BEYOND program and other integration efforts, and how will the agency combine the results of various UAS activities to help realize full integration?
6. What approaches will the FAA use to obtain and address community feedback on UAS integration and ensure a range of perspectives is considered?

We appreciate your attention to this request. If you have any questions regarding this request, please contact ______ with the Subcommittee on Aviation, Majority staff, at ______, and ______ with the Subcommittee on Aviation, Minority staff, at ______.

                                                            Sincerely,   

PETER A. DeFAZIO
Chair

SAM GRAVES
Ranking Member

RICK LARSEN
Chair
Subcommittee on Aviation

GARRET GRAVES
Ranking Member
Subcommittee on Aviation   

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