Civilian Use of Drone Aircraft May Soon Fly In the US (W. J. Hennigan)

[Peter G. Neumann]

"Drone aircraft, best known for their role in hunting and destroying
terrorist hideouts in Afghanistan and Pakistan, may be coming soon to the
skies near you. Police agencies want drones for air support to find runaway
criminals. Utility companies expect they can help monitor oil, gas and water
pipelines. Farmers believe drones could aid in spraying crops with
pesticides. 'It's going to happen,' said Dan Elwell, vice president of civil
aviation at the Aerospace Industries Association.  'Now it's about figuring
out how to safely assimilate the technology into national airspace.'  That's
the job of the Federal Aviation Administration, which plans to propose new
rules for using small drones in January, a first step toward integrating
robotic aircraft into the nation's skyways."  [Source: W.J. Hennigan,
*Seattle Times*, 29 Nov 2011]
  http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2016882681_drones29.html

  [Misappropriating Vint Cerf's famous statement on the Internet,
    ``Drones are for everyone?''  PGN]

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