Mark McKinnon

Dentons US LLP

1676 International Drive • Penthouse
McLean, VA 22102

- 4832

United States

email: mark.mckinnon@dentons.com

T 703.336.8808

F 703.336.8750 Salans FMC SNR

Denton
McKenna Long

dento ns.com

February 4, 2016

U.S. Department of Transportation Docket Management System 1200 New Jersey Ave., SE Washington, D.C. 20590

Re: Second Amendment to Exemption 12174 granted to CNN (Docket No. FAA

2015

- 1851)

To Whom it May Concern:

As you are aware , this office represents Cable News Network, Inc. (CNN) regarding the

above

- referenced Petition for Exemption, which was granted on July 27, 2015. On September 3, 2015, CNN Filed a Petition for Amendment to add an additional UAS, the Fotokite Pro (hereina fter "Fotokite")

. That amendment was granted on December 3, 2015. See Exemption

12174B. CNN hereby requests an amendment to its Exemption to permit the Fotokite to be flown in congested areas pursuant to 14 CFR § 91.119(b) , and at closer distances to no n

participating persons, vehicles and structures under § 91.119(c)

.

CNN will submit the following supporting materials, the Fotokite Safety Datasheet , CNN Operations Manual, CNN Risk Assessment Tool , Fotokite Specifications Sheet, and Fotokite

User's Manual as confidential document pursuant to 14 C.F.R. § 11.35(b), as the materials contain confidential commercial and/or proprietary information that CNN has not and will not

share w ith others. Additionally, the document s contain operating conditions and procedures that are not generally available to the public and are protected from release under the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. § 552 et seq

.

I. DESCRIPTION OF PROPOSED OPERATIONS

CNN seeks to amend its Exemption to use the Fotokite to fly in support of its newsgathering operations in congested areas. The Fotokite is a small, light

- weight tethered UAS

that has a motorized winch that controls the amount of the tether that is released. CNN intends to operate the Fotokite to obtain video footage of news events in congested areas. As set forth in

detail in CNN's UAS Operations Manual and supporting documents, the Fotokite will only be flown after a safety analysis has been performed and adequate means have been established to exclude bystanders f

rom the operations area. The operations area is defined by the maximum tether length and an additional safety margin of 15'. In addition, CNN has developed a riskPage 2 Salans FMC SNR Denton
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assessment tool to be used by personnel prior to any operation to ensure a high level of sa fety for all congested area operations. 1

II. THE REQUESTED AMENDMENT IS IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST

There is great demand for news gathering at events that occur in urban and suburban settings, as well as locations where there are large gatherings of people

. There is also a growing recognition among all levels of the news media, that one of the most effective, efficient, and safe way of gathering images of newsworthy events is through the use of a UAS. 2 Without relief from the requirements of 14 C.F.R. 9 1. 119, news gathering activities with a UAS in urban and

suburban areas is prohibited. Th at prohibition does not, however, stop the gathering of news, it merely forces news gatherers into using less safe and more costly alternatives, such as manned

aircraft and helicopters. Forcing new s organizations to use these more

- risk y alternatives is not in the public interest.

M ost major news events happen where people are . Unfortunately, most people tend to

be in congested areas. When these events happen, news gathering operations currently have to rely on helicopters and manned aircraft. For example, when riots broke out in Baltimore in April, CNN affiliate WJLA made extensive use of video footage from helicopters. See http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/27/us/baltimore

- riots

- timeline/

. While helicopters can and do operate over congested areas safely, there have been serious accidents , such as the 2007 midair

collision between two news helico pters covering a police pursuit , that resulted in four deaths

. 3
There are many situations w here the same types of footage can be obtained with far less risk to persons and property by a UAS. 4

While real

- world accidents such as this can tell us a lot ab out a " worst

- case " scenario and highlight specific problems, a more statistical review of the risks is equally important. CNN has

conducted such a risk analysis, which is set forth in subsection E to the Fotokite Safety Data

1 See Confidential Attachment 3.

2 See Mickey H. Osterreicher, Charting the Course for the Use of Small Unmanned Aer ial Systems in Newsgathering (2014), https://nppa.org/sites/default/files/AUVSI%20Paper%2004

- 11

- 14.pdf

3 See NTSB Aviation Accident Report AAR

- 90

- 02, Midair Collision of Ele ctronic News Gathering Helicopters KTVK

- TV, Eurocopter AS350B2, N613TV, and U.S. Helicopters, Inc., Eurocopter AS350B2, N215TV.

4 See NTSB Most Wanted List, Critical Changes Needed to Reduce Transportation Accidents and Save Lives: Address Unique Charact eristics of Helicopter Operations (2014) (citing, among other things, the overwhelming growth in demand for helicopters to support electronic news gathering as a factor in the number of helicopter accidents), available at: http://www.ntsb.gov/safety/mwl/Documents/2014/01_MWL_HeliOps.pdfPage 3 Salans FMC SNR Denton
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Sheet. 5 According to the rec ent Report of the Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Registration Task Force (RTF) Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC) , the acceptable level of fatal accident

risk fo r manned commercial aviation is on the order of 1x10 - 9 per hour flying and the risk level

for general aviation is 5x10 - 5 per hour flying. 6 Even more significant, based on a 2012 FAA presentation, the fatal accident rate for helicopter operations was 3.9x10 - 5 per hour flying , with 9 fatal helicopter news

- gathering accidents occurring over the 3 ye ar period studied

. 7

So, how do those risks compare with UAS operations? The conclusion of the ARC

R eport was that for a small, untethered hobby aircraft operated in a densely packed urban environment where there was not effort made to cordon off or sepa rate the aircraft from bystanders, there would be 1 ground fatali ty for every 20,000,000 flight hours of a UAS , or 4.7x10 - 8 accidents per hour flying . This is a safety risk far better than that enjoyed by either general aviation or helicopter operation. 8

CNN has conducted a similar analysis for its proposed operations using the Fotokite that

tak es into account CNN's additional procedural safeguards to segregate bystanders from the flight and the unique properties of t et her ed flight. 9 That analysis deter mined that there is a fatal

accident rate of 1.92 x 10 - 9 per flight hour, or one fatal accident per 520,000,000 flight hours. This accident rate is far superior to either the operation of general aviation aircraft or helicopters

, and compares very favorab ly with commercial aviation.

Given the risks associated with operating manned aircraft or helicopters over populated areas for news gathering, and the clearly superior levels of safety that can be achieved by using a tethered UAS to achieve the same goa ls, the requested exemption is clearly in the public interest and should be granted.

I I I

. CNN'S PROPOSED USE OF THE FOTOKITE IN CONGESTED AREAS PROVIDES AN EQUIVALENT LEVEL OF SAFETY FOR COMPLIANCE WITH

14 CFR § 91.119(B) AND (C)

Minimum safe altitu des for aircraft are set forth in 14 CFR 91.119, which provides in relevant part :

Except when necessary for takeoff or landing, no person may operate an aircraft below the following altitudes:

5 See Confidential Attachment 1.

6 https://www.faa. gov/uas/publications/media/RTFARCFinalReport_11

- 21

- 15.pdf

7 https://www.aea.net/events/rotorcraft/files/US_Rotorcraft_Accident_Data_And_Statistics.p df

8 https://www.faa.gov/uas/publications/media/RTFARCFinalReport_11

- 21

- 15.pdf at 9.

9 See Confidential Attachment 1 at Section E.Page 4 Salans FMC SNR Denton
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(b) Over congested areas. Over any congested area of a city, town, or settlement, or over any open air assembly of persons, an altitude of 1,000 feet above the highest obstacle within a horizontal radius of 2,000 feet of the aircraft.

(c) Over other than congested areas. An altitude of 500 feet above the surface, except over open water or sparsely populated areas. In those cases, the aircraft may not be operated closer than 500 feet to any person, vessel, vehicle, or

structure.

The FAA has determined that UAS can be routinely operated in non

- congested areas

und er 14 CFR § 91.119(c). 10 The FAA has also determined that a sufficient equivalent level of safety exists to justify modification of the limitation for operating within 500 feet of any person, vessel, vehicle or structure. 11 Specifically, operations are per mitted close to vessels, vehicles and structures so long as the owner has consented and " the PIC has made a safety assessment of the risk of operating closer to those objects and determined that it does not present an undue

hazard." 12 Similarly, flight clo ser than 500 feet to bystanders is permitted if there are "barriers or structures . . . present that sufficiently protect nonpa rti cipating persons . . . ."

Fotokite's testing and analysis of the vehicle, coupled with CNN’s congested operations

and safety procedures, provide an equivalent level of safety to permit flight in both congested and noncongested areas with lower minimum distances. At any time the Fotokite needs to be

flown i n closer proximity to a structure or vehicle that is not the subject of the flight, CNN wil l conduct the operation using the Fotokite and its tether. As set forth in the O perati ons Manual, preparing for a congested area flight is a multi

- step process , an d requires the crew to perform:

● A S ite S urvey,

● Detailed F light and Contingency Planning,

● Area Cordon Procedures,

● Flight Team Bri e fing,

● Emergency Procedure review,

● Recall and Stop procedures,

● Additional Congested Area Risk Assessment and Mitigation Procedures

.

In addition, the goal of the CNN congested area operation procedures is to establish a separation between the public and the tethered UAS. This separation mitigates the risk of the UAS inadvertently flying over a bystander at the time of a primary and backup power failure. The

manufacturer 's testing and analysis demonstrate that a buffer of 9' is sufficient to prevent injury

10 See Exemption 11723 to AIG PC GS, Docket No. FAA

- 2014

- 0913.

11 Id. at ¶ 26.

12 Id.Page 5 Salans FMC SNR Denton
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in the event of any catastrophic failure. The introduction of the additional 15' buffer by CNN through the operations manual further mitigates the risk to bystanders from debris in the event of

a failure.

In addition to these procedural sa feguards, the physical characteristics of the vehicle support a finding that the proposed operations can be conducted un der an equivalent level of safety. As set forth in the attached materials , t he Fotokite sy stem consists of a Ground Control Station ( GCS ) and a purpose built ve rtical take

- off and landing ( VTOL) vehicle. 13 The Fotokite

vehicle weighs under 2 pounds and is equipped with four electric motors configured as a quad

formation

. The Fotokite operates using a tether that is attached to a power source on t he ground

. The tether has a maximum length of 20 meters and the strength of its connectors and fasteners

ca n withstand a force of over 4 0 times the total lifting power of the vehicle

.

T he attached Fotokite Safety Datasheet provides additional information that demonstrates that the characteristics of the vehicle, its tether, control and redundant safety systems make it an ideal

vehicle for use in congested areas and in closer proximity to non

- partic ipating persons, vehicles

and structures.

The Fotokite Pro system is designed to provide long term persistent stare capabilities and enable reliable long d uration flight

. The vehicle also has the following safety features:

 Because the vehicle’s power is supplied by the tether, a fly

- away event is impossible. In the unlikely event of a tether loss, the vehicle will conduct a controlled emergency landing.

 The vehicle's position is controlled by the tether. As a result, there are no issues regarding radi o control frequencies or radio interference.

 The Fotokite Pro uses unique "soft

- propellers" that can be stopped with ones fingers if absolutely necessary. Based on testing by the manufacturer, t hese propellers are incapable of cutting the tether.

 Th e Fotokite Pro has a built in battery warning system that gives notice that the vehicle

should be landed.

The tether control system also relieves the need for GPS systems and the need for autonomous return to home or autonomous alternate landing systems to deal with an interruption of GPS signal.

13 See Confidential Attachments 1, 4 and 5.Page 6 Salans FMC SNR Denton
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IV. CONCLUSION

The use of helicopters and manned aircraft for news gathering in congested areas carries with it substantial risks, not just to the occupants of the aircraft, but to bystanders and property on the ground. A common sense approach to mitigating those risks is to use small UAS to perform the same functions. Due to their size, weight, and operational limitations, small UAS are inherently less dangerous than manned aircraft. In addition, CNN has established a responsible series of procedures and safeguards to further enhance these safety benefits. Accordingly, CNN respectfully requests that the Exemption be granted.

If you have any questions regarding this amendment, or require any addition al information to process CNN's Petition, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Very truly yours,

Mark E. McKinnon Counsel for Cable News Network, Inc.

Confidential Attachments

1. Fotokite Safety Datasheet

2. CNN Operations Manual

3. CNN Risk Assessment Tool

4. Fotokite Specifications Sheet

5. Fotokite User's Manual

(The se attached items will be submitted under separate cover as they contain proprietary and commercial information exempt from disclosu re under the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. § 522 et seq., and should be held in a separate file pursuant to 14 C.F.R. § 11.35(b)).