NYPA Wins FAA Approval For Beyond Line of Sight Drone Operations

by Peter Maloney
APPA News
February 28, 2023

The Federal Aviation Administration has granted the New York Power Authority approval to fly drones beyond the visual line of sight of the pilot.

FAA regulations require pilots to maintain visual contact while operating a drone. The FAA-granted waiver allows operators to conduct operations without the pilot or an observer being able to see the unmanned aircraft or to scan the surrounding airspace throughout the entire flight. Routes, however, must be pre-planned and the drone must remain within 50 feet above ground level or within 50 feet of structures.

NYPA says the waiver will enable it to conduct fully remote drone operations such as asset and vegetative management inspections at its Blenheim-Gilboa Pumped Storage Power Project in Schoharie County.

NYPA chose the Blenheim-Gilboa Pumped Storage Project as a first use-case to prove the technology’s application, primarily because of the sparser population in the region.

“Drones will become an even more valuable tool as we expand our capability to detect infrastructure issues and support our mapping and land management responsibilities,”

Justin Driscoll, NYPA acting president and CEO, said in a statement. “Being able to capture images remotely, regardless of weather conditions or distances, will allow us to track and evaluate our assets more efficiently and safely.”

The waiver was obtained with the help of Skydio, a U.S. drone and software manufacturer providing equipment and advisory services. 

“Our application demonstrated to the FAA that we are ready to enhance our program and capabilities,” Peter Kalaitzidis, manager of NYPA’s unmanned aircraft systems program, said in a statement.

NYPA already operates drones at several sites throughout New York State to monitor asset health, including for inspection of transmission lines, vegetation management and monitoring of overgrown trees, and spillway erosion mapping. The agency has more than 40 employees trained as drone pilots.

“Having this waiver removes limitations and unlocks opportunities moving forward,” Kalaitzidis said. “We will continue to explore potential uses for this technology that will benefit the Authority and hopefully the industry at large. At present, we are developing the procedures, mitigation steps and hardware so we can best use these resources over the next few years.”