Meetings Between Outside Parties and The Office of Management and Budget Regarding 

Proposed Part 107

Between May 10 and June 14, 2016, the Office of Management and Budget, Office of 

Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), hosted several meetings between outside parties and 

the Federal Aviation Administration and the Department of Transportation regarding the 

Operation and Certification of Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems final rule, which was then 

under review by OIRA. The meetings are summarized below.

Under OIRA procedures, as set forth in Executive Order 12866, if such meetings concern 

regulations under review, they must be conducted by the OIRA Administrator or a specific 

designee, and a log, available on OIRA’s website, is kept of such meetings. For more 

information please visit https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/OIRA_QsandAs.

May 10, 2016

Representatives from the Office of Management and Budget, the Department of Transportation, 

and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) met with representatives from AirMap. 

Airmap’s representatives made the following points during the meeting:

 Technology evolves at a rapid pace and FAA should be cognizant of this fact as it 

pertains to the Operation and Certification of Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems

(UAS) Rule. For example, technology now allows much more information to be 

communicated in a digestible format to the operator of an aircraft.

 Part 107 of title 14 of the CFR should provide the operator with a path, through 

technological means, to obtain air traffic control authorization to operate in controlled 

airspace. Sufficient funds should be appropriated to allow this to happen.

 FAA authority should not preempt state and local law with regard to low-altitude 

UAS operations (below 200 feet) or UAS operations that take place close to a 

building in an area that manned aircraft are prohibited from entering. Airmap’s 

representatives asserted that state and local jurisdictions know the local area and its 

unique operating characteristics best, and thus, state and local regulation of UAS 

would be more tailored to local considerations.

 Part 107 of title 14 of the CFR should require UAS operated in close proximity to an 

airport to notify the airport operator prior to the operation.

May 13, 2016, 11:00am

Representatives from the Office of Management and Budget, the Council of Economic Advisers, 

the Department of Transportation, and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) met with 
representatives from MEASURE. MEASURE’s representatives made the following points 

during the meeting:

 The final rule should require a demonstration of proficiency in safely piloting a small 

unmanned aircraft system (UAS). This could be accomplished by requiring a person 

to have a certain amount of flight experience prior to conducting UAS operations, 

especially more advanced operations.

 The confined area of operation concept proposed in the NPRM would restrict the 

growth of the commercial UAS industry. Requiring higher levels of training for

operators would enable safely expanding the permissible area of small UAS 

operation.

 Sacrificing a UAS should not be an option in response to an emergency.

May 13, 2016, 3:30pm

Representatives from the Office of Management and Budget, the Department of Transportation, 

and the FAA met with representatives from the Small UAV Coalition. The Small UAV Coalition 

representatives reiterated the points that were made in the comments that the Coalition filed in 

response to the NPRM.

May 23, 2016

Representatives from the Office of Management and Budget, the Department of Transportation, 

and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) met with representatives from the Property 

Drone Consortium. The Property Drone Consortium representatives reiterated the points that 

were made in the PowerPoint presentation that they submitted as part of the meeting.

May 24, 2016

Representatives from the Office of Management and Budget, the Department of Transportation, 

and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) met with representatives from Aerovironment. 

Aerovironment’s representatives made the following points during the meeting:

 The small UAS rule should allow section 333 exemption holders to continue 

operating under part 107 within the parameters authorized in their current 

exemptions.

 The process for grating section 333 exemptions is currently very slow, and there 

should be an expedited way to obtain a 333 exemption.

 If state and local governments have too much ability to regulate UAS, it could result 

in unintended consequences of a patchwork of different laws applicable to UAS 

operations.
 The FAA should allow fully autonomous UAS operation within proper constraints in 

order to capture the full benefits of UAS.

May 31, 2016, 2:00pm

Representatives from the Office of Management and Budget, the Department of Transportation, 

and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) met with representatives from the Association of 

American Universities (AAU) and the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities 

(APLU). AAU and APLU’s representatives made the following points during the meeting:

 The FAA’s interpretation on student uses of UAS should be incorporated into the 

final small UAS rule.

 The final rule should allow low-risk beyond-line-of-sight operations. These 

operations could be conducted safely through an additional beyond-visual-line-ofsight rating for the remote pilot in command airman certificate.

 The final rule should not impose any medical requirements on visual observers, and it 

should allow visual observers to act as a substitute for the remote pilot in command.

 The final rule should include a micro UAS class of aircraft/operations.

May 31, 2016, 3:00pm

Representatives from the Office of Management and Budget, the Department of Transportation, 

and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) met with representatives from the Mercatus 

Center at George Mason University. Mercatus’ representatives made the following points during 

the meeting:

 The NPRM proposal limiting external loads did not consider the benefits of these 

operations.

 Technology to safely allow beyond-visual-line-of-sight operations exists now, and the 

FAA should consider the costs and benefits of prohibiting these operations.

 The FAA should consider the benefits of allowing nighttime operations.

 The registration requirements of the UAS registration interim final rule should be 

subject to a cost-benefit analysis.

 Air carrier operations should be allowed based on cost-benefit analysis.

 Autonomous operations should be allowed if there is human override capability.
 Operations over people should be allowed because most economic value is created for 

operations conducted near people.

 The tort system and liability insurance provide risk mitigation sufficient to relax the 

requirements proposed in the NPRM.

June 1, 2016, 1:00pm

Representatives from the Office of Management and Budget, the Department of Transportation, 

and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) met with representatives from the National 

Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC). NAMIC’s representatives made the 

following points during the meeting:

 The differentiation between hobby and commercial UAS operations is unrelated to 

safety.

 The final rule should clarify the preemptive effect of part 107.

 The final rule should allow non-line-of-sight operations if the unmanned aircraft is 

operated closely to the remote pilot in command.

 The rule should clarify what “over people” means.

 The rule should clarify what a visual observer is allowed to do.

 The rule should include additional reporting requirement to gather safety data.

 Asking for permission from homeowners to operate within 500 feet of their property 

is difficult and should not be included as a requirement in the rule.

 UAS are particularly useful in disaster settings because there is no infrastructure to 

block view of the UAS.

June 1, 2016, 3:00pm

Representatives from the Office of Management and Budget, the Department of Transportation, 

and the FAA met with Mr. Adam John and students from the Fall Creek Intermediate School, 

Fishers, Indiana. Mr. John and his students expressed concerns regarding the following:

 allowing for younger ages to operate UAS under the rule

 allowing nighttime operations with thermal cameras attached to a UAS to perform 

research/study

 allowing nighttime operations with UAS equipped with lighting to meet the visual 

line of sight requirement (or setting a standard for the equipment)
 providing special COAs for educators outside of the exemption process to allow for 

teaching UAS operations

 promoting, not stifling, UAS use for educational uses

 operation of UAS within the national park system for research/study purposes

There were also several clarifying questions dealing with the registration IFR.

June 2, 2016

Representatives from the Office of Management and Budget, the Department of Transportation, 

and the FAA met with the Drone Manufacturers Alliance, including GoPro attending in person. 

Drone Manufacturer’s alliance made the following points during the meeting:

 Separate category for smaller UAS aircraft – micro category (below 4.4 lbs) that is 

exempt from the airman certification and any use case scenarios. Support keeping it 

separate from part 21

 Support operator requirements in NPRM

 NPRM strikes right balance for aircraft certification: pre-flight inspections

 In general support operating rules

 Additional flexibility for BVLOS – for different level of safety (technology – sense 

and avoid, etc). 

 Do not require specific technology, however. Keep requirements performance based.

 Alliance response to OMB question: Equivalent level of safety dependent would be 

upon parameters of operation. What does the environment require to maintain the 

appropriate level of safety?

 Alliance response to OMB question: majority of manufacturers are collecting data 

and will rely on that data in the future to deal with safety, certification information 

and documentation for assisting operators determining equivalent level of safety.

 Airmen certification: happy with knowledge testing being available on line. 
June 3, 2016

Representatives from the Office of Management and Budget, the Department of Transportation, 

and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) met with representatives from the Commercial 

Drone Alliance (CDA). CDA’s representatives made the following points during the meeting:

 The rule should allow nighttime operations because flying at night is safer since no 

people are outdoors.

 The rule should allow UAS to fly closer than 500 feet to nonparticipants in order to 

enable tower inspections.

 The rule should allow operations beyond-line-of-sight and over people because this 

would allow better news reporting and would help relay post-disaster information to 

emergency responders.

 The rule should clarify what “over people” means.

 UAS use would improve weather warning predictions by allowing better observation 

of the lower atmosphere.

 UAS use would also allow for less intrusive data gathering, the ability to quickly 

deploy technology, and the ability to detect oil leaks.

 The FAA should enable lower-risk small UAS operation conducted by very light 

small UAS.

 Lack of clarity in the applicable UAS rules impedes financing.

 Regulations for commercial UAS operations should be the same as the regulations 

applicable to hobby UAS operations.

June 6, 2016, 11:30am

Representatives from the Office of Management and Budget, the Department of Transportation, 

and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) met with representatives from the National 

Association of Broadcasters (NAB). NAB’s representatives made the following points during the

meeting:

 Small UAS can safely fly lower and produce a smaller environmental impact than 

manned helicopters.

 UAS are much cheaper for newsgathering than manned aircraft.
 The final rule should allow UAS flight to take place near people and it should clarify 

the prohibition on flight over people.

 The final rule should allow nighttime operations within the parameters that have been 

established in already-issued § 333 exemptions.

 The final rule should not prohibit flights within five miles of an airport, and the FAA 

should ensure that air traffic control promptly processes requests to operate in 

controlled airspace.

June 6, 2016, 2:30pm

Representatives from the Office of Management and Budget, the Department of Transportation, 

and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) met with representatives from CNN/Time 

Warner. CNN/Time Warner’s representatives made the following points during the meeting:

 The UAS rules should allow expanded operations that could be conducted safely once 

UAS technology evolves.

 Local air traffic control should have the power to allow an operation in controlled 

airspace.

 Nighttime operations should be permitted with appropriate mitigation.

 The final rule should allow flights to be closer than 500 feet to a person because 

existing camera technology cannot get a meaningful shot when the unmanned aircraft 

is 500 feet away from the subject being photographed.

 The final rule should clarify the prohibition on flight over people.

June 10, 2016, 11:00am

Representatives from the Office of Management and Budget, the Department of Transportation, 

and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) met with representatives from LIFT. LIFT’s 

representatives made the following points during the meeting:

 The final rule should include a process through which the FAA will grant operations 

of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) in certain airspace. The process should include 

objective criteria upon which air traffic controllers base the determination of whether 

to permit operations in certain airspace. 

 The final rule should automatically permit UAS operations to occur beyond visual 

line immediately following disasters, because post-disaster imagery is extremely 

valuable. In the alternative, the final rule should provide a simple, efficient process 

for evaluating and permitting such operations. Likewise, to obtain images 
immediately following a disaster, the FAA should consider permitting operations of 

UAS over people.

 The FAA should reconsider the availability of certificates of authorization to “public” 

UAS, which the FAA may grant on an expedited basis. In addition, the FAA should 

be aware the general process for obtaining a certificate of authorization is inefficient. 

June 10, 2016, 2:00pm

Representatives from the Office of Management and Budget, the Department of Transportation, 

and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) met with representatives from Autel Robotics 

USA. Autel Robotics’ representatives made the following points during the meeting:

 Beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) operations can safely be allowed my using 

transponders and machine learning as safety mitigations. The final rule should allow 

BVLOS operations to keep the U.S. competitive with the rest of the world.

 Autel Robotics’ technology allows UAS to maintain link with the control station 

while the unmanned aircraft is two miles away from the control station.

 The final rule should allow the simultaneous operation of multiple aircraft because 

existing technology allows one person to safely operate as many as 10 unmanned 

aircraft simultaneously. The operation of multiple aircraft would allow for better 

disaster response.

June 13, 2016

Representatives from the Office of Management and Budget, the Department of Transportation, 

and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) met with representatives from Cape Productions. 

Cape Productions’ representatives made the following points during the meeting:

 The final rule should relax the proposed prohibition on flight over people. Cape 

Productions operates in ski resorts, and the controlled-access environment that they 

have to set up to comply with this prohibition impedes normal ski resort operations.

 Cape Productions is implementing technology that allows users log into a system via 

the internet, and remotely control a UAS.

 The final rule should change the definition of “pilot” to refer to a person who has 

master control over the small UAS operation.

 The visual-line-of-sight and no-operation-of-multiple-UAS provisions proposed in 

the NPRM would create an economic burden because operators would have to hire 

more pilots to operate their UAS if these provisions are finalized as proposed.
 The final rule should relax the proposed operational restrictions for operations 

conducted in privately owned controlled-access environments.

June 14, 2016

Representatives from the Office of Management and Budget, the Department of Transportation, 

and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) met with representatives from the News Media 

Coalition (NMC). NMC’s representatives made the following points during the meeting:

 Using a UAS is significantly cheaper than using manned-helicopters for 

newsgathering. Manned helicopters are louder and pose a potentially higher safety 

risk than small UAS.

 NMC discussed television programs that UAS could be used to film.

 NMC participated in UAS training at the Virginia Tech test site that goes above and 

beyond the knowledge testing proposed in the NPRM. NMC members will likely 

require similar levels of training for their employees even if not required to do so by 

the final rule.

 The final rule should allow UAS to fly over people while the UAS is in transit to its 

destination. Alternatively, the flight-over-people prohibition should be limited to 

only prohibit flights over dense crowds. 

 The final rule should allow UAS to operate closer than 500 feet to a person. The rule 

should also not impose a specific numerical stand-off-distance requirement.

 The rule should allow people who have taken a knowledge test at a test site to 

substitute passage of that test for passage of the NPRM-proposed initial aeronautical 

knowledge test.