The FAA announced that it has issued exemptions for 6 aerial photo and video production companies to fly unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) (aka drones) for commercial use.

The FAA’s authority to regulate the hobby-sized drones was called into question when a judge for the National Transportation Safety Board threw out a $10,000 fine the FAA levied against a commercial filmmaker in Virginia earlier this year.

To date, the FAA has not updated the regulations wherein it is attempting to enforce a ban on hobby-sized drones (e.g., the DJI Phantom) as an “unmanned aircraft system” (the legal term used in the regulations. Yet, the FAA is still exempting certain companies from its (currently unenforceable) regulations. [Read more…]