By RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com filed January 12, 2015
Drones seem to be everywhere, but the Federal Aviation Administration has been a bit wary of all this uncheckered growth.
Newsgathering organizations have been angling to use these unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) as well. Atlanta-based CNN is the first organization to get permission to use drones from the FAA, the network announced today.
"Our aim is to get beyond hobby-grade equipment and to establish what options are available and workable to produce high quality video journalism using various types of UAVs and camera setups," CNN Senior Vice President David Vigilante said in a statement. "Our hope is that these efforts contribute to the development of a vibrant ecosystem where operators of various types and sizes can safely operate in the US airspace."
The FAA Administrator Michael Huerta acknowledges the hunger for such use: "Unmanned aircraft offer news organizations significant opportunities. We hope this agreement with CNN and the work we are doing with other news organizations and associations will help safely integrate unmanned newsgathering technology and operating procedures into the National Airspace System."
CNN began studying the issue last year with Georgia Tech and this special Cooperative Research and Development Agreement will help the FAA gather and coordinate data with the other two organizations.
The FAA has restricted drone use, worried they will interfere with manned aircraft. But the administration did give six film-making companies exemptions last September to use drones.
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