Drones: Where does the National Airspace System Start?

Abstract

Verbatim from Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons. Not paraphrased, not summarized.

Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), Unmanned Aeronautical Vehicles (UAV), drones and Personal Aerial Vehicles (PAV) constitute the greatest technological advancement since the jet age. (Elaine Chao, Secretary of Transportation, October 26, 2017) This technological advancement has prompted significant public policy challenges and the need for new laws regarding navigable airspace. This proposal investigates how airspace used by drones will evolve given existing Constitutional and common law principals. These principals will influence the creation, development and modification of UAS airspace regulations by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Two critical but unanswered questions concerning the National Airspace System, are where does navigable airspace begin and where do private property rights end? The juxtaposition of private property rights and navigable airspace are inherently in conflict when considering common law principals and two seminal cases, Causby v. United States, 328 U.S. 246 (1946) and Griggs v. Allegheny County, 369 U.S. 84 (1964). The FAA purports that the National Airspace System starts at the surface. However, common law principles of property, nuisance, trespass, privacy, and Fourth and Fifth Amendment Rights of Constitutional Law along with state and local laws actually define where the National Airspace System starts, not the FAA. This research will provide a thorough examination of Case law, common law and local law. Considerations from this repertoire of judicial and common law principles will provide law makers, FAA regulators, legal practitioners and drone pilots key considerations to address in developing laws that appropriately meld the integration of the UAS operations within the NAS.

Author

• Lorenzon, Jason T., J.D. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Keywords

• UAV
• UAS
• Drones
• Drone
• Law
• Property Law
• National Airspace System
• Constitutional Law
• Nuissance Law
• Federal Aviation Regulations
• Constitutional Law
• Nuissance