SC companies told to stop flying commercial drones

Press

SPARTANBURG, S.C. —Small, unmanned aircraft – or drones – used for commercial purposes are coming. Soon, you will be able to hire a drone to shoot video of real estate, weddings and outdoor festivals.

But until the Federal Aviation Administration’s proposed rules on drones become final, for-profit drone flights without government authorization are still illegal for most people.

— unless you are Richard Edmund, of Spartanburg.

“I did not want to find myself on the wrong end of the FAA,” Edmund said.

Edmund, owner of Extreme Media Productions and an occasional fill-in on WYFF News 4 traffic, was the only applicant out of 137 in South Carolina to receive permission from the FAA to fly commercial drones.

“It’s hard to tell how long I’ll hold on to this distinction, but we’ll hold onto it as long as we can,” Edmund said.

Edmund said he doesn’t why his application was approved, while others were declined.

WYFF News Investigates has learned the FAA sent cease and desist letters to 11 companies in South Carolina accused of offering commercial drone services without authorization.

Edmund said some companies are bypassing the law.

“They’re using drones and are basically saying, ‘You are not paying for the drone service. The drone service is something we throw in for free. You’re paying for the editing and post production.’ That’s kind of shirting the spirit of these regulations,” Edmund said.

Three years ago, the City of Greenville paid a production company to shoot a series of ads, promoting tourism. Drones were used to take aerial shots for which the city paid $6,500.

WYFF News 4 Investigates asked Jennifer Stilwell, chief marketing officer of VisitGreenvilleSC, how the city was able to purchase the video since commercial drone flights were not authorized in 2012.

“We did not contract with (the production company) on that independent shoot. (They) shot that footage on their own, then played show and tell with us. We then, in November of 2012, we made a decision to purchase that aerial footage,” Stillwell said.

The City of Spartanburg also hired a company to shoot drone video of last year’s Red White & Boom fireworks celebration. But when a local newspaper wrote an article about it, the FAA contacted city spokesman Will Rothschild and told him to cancel the deal.

“It was an interesting conversation,” Rothschild said. “(They said) the act of actually shooting the footage was OK, but if we paid for it, it wouldn’t be OK.”

One reason the FAA has been slow to allow commercial drone flights is the potential for accidents. The agency said in the last two years, pilots have reported a surge of close encounters with unmanned aircraft.

One encounter happened at GSP International Airport last year. A commercial pilot, flying at 2,000 feet, reported seeing an unmanned aircraft 500 feet below his airplane as he tried to land.

Drones are not allowed within five miles of airports. They are also prohibited from flying higher than 500 feet. And for now, commercial drone flights are off-limits, except to those who receive one of the FAA’s rare exemptions.

http://www.wyff4.com/news/SC-companies-told-to-stop-flying-commercial-drones/32822058