Amazon's drone delivery ambitions just scored a big win: The Federal Aviation Administration granted the company an "experimental airworthiness certificate" that will let it conduct test flights outside during daylight hours.
Previously, Amazon was conducting its tests within company facilities. In December, the company sent a very pointed letter to FAA warning that it would "have no choice" but to move more of its drone research outside the United States if it wasn't allowed to do more testing outside soon.
With the new certificate from the FAA, Amazon's drones can now fly outside, but must remain in sight of trained pilots. The company will also need to report all its data to the FAA.
Though being able to test its drones outside is good news for Amazon, there are still plenty of hurtles ahead.
In February, the FAA proposed a new set of rules for commercial drones that would require the vehicles to stay away from people. Because Amazon plans to have its drones deliver packages directly to customers' houses, the company wasn't pleased with the proposal.
“The FAA’s proposed rules for small UAS [unmanned aerial vehicles] could take one or two years to be adopted and, based on the proposal, even then those rules wouldn’t allow Prime Air to operate in the United States," Paul Misener, Amazon's vice president of Global Public Policy wrote in a statement at the time.
The FAA will officially vote on the February proposal later this year.
Here's the full statement from the FAA about Amazon's new certificate:
The Federal Aviation Administration today issued an experimental airworthiness certificate to an Amazon Logistics, Inc. unmanned aircraft (UAS) design that the company will use for research and development and crew training. The FAA typically issues experimental certificates to manufacturers and technology developers to operate a UAS that does not have a type certificate.
Under the provisions of the certificate, all flight operations must be conducted at 400 feet or below during daylight hours in visual meteorological conditions. The UAS must always remain within visual line-of-sight of the pilot and observer. The pilot actually flying the aircraft must have at least a private pilot’s certificate and current medical certification.
The certificate also requires Amazon to provide monthly data to the FAA. The company must report the number of flights conducted, pilot duty time per flight, unusual hardware or software malfunctions, any deviations from air traffic controllers’ instructions, and any unintended loss of communication links. The FAA includes these reporting requirements in all UAS experimental airworthiness certificates.
