The phenomenon of unmanned and remotely controlled (wireless) devices and craft has been present for some time already in all modes of transport: land (airport trains, remote control robots for mine clearance/demining and defusing, robot vacuum cleaners and lawn mowers), air (rockets, missiles, reconnaissance craft), space (spacecraft), underwater (torpedoes, submarines for oceanographic exploration). An important distinctive feature of aircraft as opposed to land vehicles lies however in the third dimension of their evolution, which complicates the pertinent regulatory framework. Remote controlled devices were either toys for recreational purposes (model aircraft) without practical use, or else very sophisticated and expensive devices for scientific and military uses (intelligence gathering and combat). A drone can perform duties too perilous for manned aircraft. It announces a new segment in aviation.
In the present regime a drone falls within the definition of a power-driven aircraft (Annex 7 to the Chicago Convention), whether it is an aeroplane (fixed wing), an airship (lighter than air) or a helicopter (rotary wing). Its unmanned nature does not exclude the drone from this qualification. Annex 2 to the Chicago Convention recognizes the category of remotely piloted aircraft, but Art 8 of the Chicago Convention subjects the operation of such devices to national authorisation (cfr. Infra).
Suitable regulation is required to support the development of this emerging, proliferating and even booming commercial application. Art. 8 of the Chicago Convention requires special authorization from the competent authorities of the airspace traversed for the operation of a pilotless aircraft. The consequence at present is a regulatory environment that differs between different countries: from permissive (regulatory vacuum) to restrictive (total ban).
Legislators/regulators are hard at work developing new rules to make up a legal framework that will accommodate this new economic activity and integrate it into the existing aviation system (USA, Italy, etc.). Given the international nature of aviation and taking into account the international use of drones, an internationally coordinated approach is required to develop a harmonized regime. ICAO has already published a Manual on Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) to provide guidance on drone matters in the legislative/regulatory process. ICAO and the EU have started to develop regulations.
There seems to be a general consensus that unmanned aircraft must be allowed to operate without segregation from other air space users. The commercial use of drones has an impact on safety that must be solved: interference and conflict with air traffic (collision, drone ingestion in aircraft turbine engine, etc.) and damage to people and property on the ground.
Risk-mitigating measures by enabling technology are to be considered: e.g. CAS (Collision Avoidance Systems). The security risk (misuse for terrorism purposes, hacking, jamming of the ground control station, spying, attacks of infrastructure, etc.) is to be mitigated.
The potential invasion of privacy is a serious concern: photo, video and sound recordings while flying over private property, etc., also the tort of trespassing in case of non-authorised low level over-flight of private property. The awareness of the regulatory and operational restrictions amongst users will require the organisation of a public information campaign
The effective enforcement of regulation: how can effective airborne identification and tracing of the owner/operator of the device be realised?
Finally, what would be a suitable liability and insurance regime to compensate victims of accidents?
