DJI will no longer prohibit US users from flying drones in restricted areas

DJI has raised its geofence that prevents US users from flying in restricted areas such as nuclear power plants, airports and wildfires, the company wrote in a statement. blog post on Monday. As of January 13, areas formerly known as “restricted zones” or no-fly zones will be designated as “warning zones” that correspond to areas designated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). DJI’s Fly app will display warnings for these areas but will not prevent users from flying within them, the company said.

In the article, DJI wrote that “in-app notifications will notify those flying in the vicinity of an FAA-controlled aircraft, and put the power back in the hands of the pilot, in accordance with the rules of the pilot who has the final responsibility.” It added that technologies like Remote ID (which was introduced after DJI implemented geofencing) give regulators “the tools needed to enforce existing laws,” DJI’s global chief executive Adam Welsh said. Seaside.

However, this update is odd, because DJI is already on the ground in the US as well can be banned by selling its products stateside next year. DJI’s former chief policy officer, Brendon Schulman, criticized the move on Twitter in a series of posts. “There was a lot of evidence over the years that drone geofencing, used in dangerous ways, has greatly improved aviation security,” he wrote.

There is also a problem with drones weighing less than 250 grams. These species have already been linked to GEO in restricted areas to avoid sudden escapes to restricted areas. However, this update will remove geofencing, and the remote ID can be removed from the light drones.

In fact, that’s what happened last week with the sub-250-gram DJI model destroy the wing of the Canadair Super Scooper aircraft to fight the Los Angeles fires, temporarily putting it to work. That drone may not have sent a remote ID, so the FBI said it had to use “investigative methods” instead to find the pilot.

DJI first implemented a geofence (called GEO) around airports in 2013, and added new areas in 2015. it’s 2016after the drone crash that landed on the White House lawn. It did this voluntarily, because the FAA only requires that crews be warned of restricted areas where flying is prohibited. Now, however, the responsibility will be 100 percent for the user to avoid flyers.

“DJI reminds pilots to always ensure that aircraft are operating safely and in compliance with local laws and regulations. For flights conducted in Enhanced Warning Zones, pilots must obtain flight clearance directly from the FAA and consult with the FAA’s. No Drone Zone help to find out more,” he wrote.