Recreational drone use needs some regulation, too | Editorial

For the better part of a century, the droning buzz heard over the rooftops of Forks Township has come from a recognizable source — small planes coming and going from Braden’s Airport, now known as Braden Airpark.

Today, however, there’s another concern, raised by township supervisors last week  — the recreational use of small drones by hobbyists, and the extent to which they should (or shouldn’t) be regulated.

“I don’t want a neighbor flying one over my house,” Supervisor Dan Martyak said. “When does it become harassment?”

The issue isn’t limited to Forks Township. It’s being raised everywhere, even though a municipality with an airport has some obvious concerns about the potential sharing of airspace by drones and manned aircraft.

The primary focus of Martyak, however, is one of privacy — the idea that camera-equipped drones could be peeking into people’s homes. Or falling onto one’s property and doing damage.

On a wider level, the use of drones raises some of the the same data-collection worries Americans face with cell-phone use, GPS tracking, E-ZPass records that monitor one’s travels, right up to the National Security Administration’s culling of private telephone calls.

In New Jersey, Long Beach Township has restricted drone use over its beaches, to try to prevent remote snooping on swimmers and sunbathers.

Overreaction? It all depends on your point of view — especially if someone’s perspective is from a miniature, four-rotored eye in the sky.

We think Forks Township officials did the right thing this week. After a discussion, they took a flyer on municipal action, thinking the Federal Aviation Administration,and perhaps Congress, will have the final say in drafting a comprehensive federal law on drone use. Meanwhile, towns can employ nuisance and trespassing laws, if needed, to deal with local complaints.

The FAA is moving forward on recommendations for commercial drone use. Proposed rules released in February would allow small (less than 55-pound) drones to be used for crop monitoring, aerial photography, inspections of bridges and cell towers and other applications.  Among the restrictions are a 100 mph speed limit, a 500-foot ceiling and a ban on flights over crowds.

Recently a Philadelphia-based firm, AgScan, received clearance to use drones to help farmers keep tabs on their fields in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Amazon is talking about delivering products to customers’ doors by air. FedEx, UPS and others can’t be far behind.

The FAA already has set limits on drone use that affects airports. A separate set of rules is expected to be drawn up for hobbyists using drones under 4.4 pounds. The final version of all these regulations is still two to three years away.

That said, no one should be dismissing the people, such as Martyak, who are raising relevant privacy-security questions. We saw the potential for terrorist application in January, when a two-foot drone crashed into the White House lawn. It turned out to be a recreational enthusiast who lost control of the device.

If it’s that easy to get through the Secret Service by mistake …

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