By. Tim Canoll, ALPA President

Whether received as a holiday gift, used for stargazing on clear winter nights, or featured in festive light displays, lasers have been in the news—and so has ALPA’s plan for safeguarding airline pilots from laser strikes.

ALPA, in partnership with the FAA and FBI, helped launch a laser strike awareness campaign which was rolled out in major cities around the United States last year. Unfortunately, laser strikes on aircraft have continued to increase at record pace. In response to this growing issue, Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) recently called on federal agencies to collaborate efforts to put an end to this crime.

By Capt. Tim Canoll

Maintaining safety is absolutely essential as many of us purchase and operate unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), also known as “drones.” ALPA’s plan to safely integrate UAS into the national airspace includes education, registration, technology, and enforcement of the rules.

Making certain that UAS owners register their aircraft is vital to ensuring that UAS operators fly their aircraft safely in skies they share with airliners carrying both passengers and cargo. If UAS are registered, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will be able to more easily enforce the rules that keep us safe. Moreover, the registration process will also demonstrate to purchasers the responsibility that comes with owning a UAS.

Today, I joined Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx and various stakeholders in announcing the launch of a new task force assigned to streamline a registration process for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS).

The Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) recent announcement that it will support an interim ban on all cargo shipments of lithium batteries on passenger airliners at an upcoming International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) meeting is promising news, but ALPA urges the FAA to strongly advocate its position at ICAO’s Dangerous Goods Panel, which is slated to meet later this month. Moreover, the United States must go further by fully regulating lithium battery shipment by air and implementing packaging restrictions and quantity limits on passenger and all-cargo aircraft.

Currently, lithium-ion batteries can be carried in all quantities as cargo on passenger and all-cargo flights. In its draft comment summary prepared for the ICAO Dangerous Goods Panel Twenty-Fifth Meeting to be held October 19–30 in Montreal, the U.S. government states, “At this time, we feel it is necessary to support an interim prohibition on the carriage of lithium ion-batteries as cargo on passenger aircraft to ensure that the risk is mitigated while we continue to aggressively pursue development and implementation of the performance-based standard for air transport.” The FAA’s position came in response to recommendations submitted by First Officer Mark Rogers, ALPA’s former director of the Dangerous Goods Program and current IFALPA Dangerous Goods Committee chairman and ICAO Dangerous Goods Panel member.

Today, I testified [oral|written] before the U.S. House of Representatives Aviation Subcommittee and urged lawmakers to direct the FAA to regulate unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) operated for recreation and hobby.

With the anticipated sales of one million UAS during this year’s holiday season, we must address all UAS operations immediately. The FAA is making some progress in ensuring the safe integration of UAS into our nation’s airspace system, but more is required. Just look at this summer’s release of the hundreds of FAA reports from pilots on UAS encounters. In these reports, pilots across the country described seeing a UAS while in flight, often during takeoff and landing, the most critical phases of flight.

In order to continue to track these instances, ALPA has been encouraging pilots who encounter a UAS to follow their company guidance and, where applicable, file a report with the FAA. There is a dedicated page on ALPA’s website, available to anyone, that helps pilots understand whether the encounter is likely reportable as a near mid-air collision and provides the links and information needed to submit the necessary information.