FAA Permits Ariz. Agent to Use Drone

For the first time, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has cleared a real estate agent to use drone technology to photograph properties. FAA officials on Tuesday (Jan. 6) granted an exemption to the current ban on commercial drone flights to Douglas Trudeau with Tierra Antigua Realty in Tucson, Ariz. U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said the use wouldn’t pose a threat to national airspace users or national security. But the FAA is requiring that drone operations use a pilot with an FAA Private Pilot certificate and current medical certificate. Trudeau plans to fly a Phantom 2 Vision + quadcopter to enhance academic community awareness and improve his real estate listing videos. The FAA also granted an exemption to Aviation Solutions in Spokane, Wash., which plans to use a fixed-wing eBee Ag UAS to make photographic measurements and perform crop scouting for precision agriculture. See the FAA news release for more details. As a reminder, NAR has instructed members against using drones or hiring photographers or videographers who use drones for capturing aerial images of listings until the FAA issues its final guidelines. (Note: Photo above is file art, not a photo of the drone that will be used.)