Integrating unmanned aircraft systems into airport operations: From buy-in to public safety

Abstract

Verbatim from Semantic Scholar. Not paraphrased, not summarized.

Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport (SAV) is in the middle of its project to integrate unmanned aircraft system (UAS) technologies into its regular airport and airfield operations. The integration includes applications for inspection, maintenance, monitoring and facility management, including support for its Part 139 inspection protocols. As the project moves from Phase I to Phase II, lead members of the implementation team from Woolpert discuss the year of consultation that led into the first phase, lessons learned so far, how those lessons are being carried into the next phase, and how additional phases will be added as the project progresses, adapting and expanding to the changing needs of the airport, the technology, the rules and trajectory of the industry. The paper also evaluates’ how the industry is evolving, how the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is attempting to safeguard the private and commercial proliferation of UASs, and how recent drone sightings near airports play a role in developing standards for implementations such as this one at SAV.

Authors

• Thomas D. Mackie
• A. Lawrence

Keywords

• Business
• Engineering
• Environmental Science