The Federal Aviation Administration is making strides with Section 333 exemption approvals. As of today the FAA has issued 1,008 of these Section 333 exemptions. This section of the agencies Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 gives the Secretary of Transportation the authority to determine whether an airworthiness certificate is required for an unmanned aircraft system to operate safely in the national airspace system. Companies/businesses and individuals ranging from a wide spectrum of industries are jumping on the bandwagon and taking advantage of applying for the Section 333 exemption process. With such a high demand for these exemptions the FAA streamlined the process to make it easier for petitioners to access airspace. This past March, the agency began to issue “blanket” COAs also know as a Certificates of Authorization to Section 333 exemption holders. This certificate allows flights anywhere in the country at or below 200 feet except when in restricted airspace. The grants the FAA has issued allow for aerial filming for many different uses such as motion picture production, precision agriculture and real estate photography. Grants have also been issued for new and original approaches to inspecting power distribution towers and wiring, bridges and railroad infrastructure. This is only the start for exemptions within Section 333, the FAA is expanding exemptions rapidly to keep up with the demand companies are presenting to them.

For the list of Section 333 exemption grants, see;

http://www.faa.gov/uas/legislative_programs/section_333/333_authorizations/