Unity considers regulations on drones near Palmer airport

Unity officials appear to be leading the way in Western Pennsylvania as they attempt to regulate the use of drones near airports.

Preliminary discussions indicate an ordinance would limit the height and proximity that operators can fly the unmanned aircraft near Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in the township.

The regulation was considered because of concerns raised by Gabe Monzo, executive director of Westmoreland County Airport Authority, officials said.

“I think it should be a concern for anyone near an airport, if you have drones flying around,” Monzo said.

The aircraft can range in size and shape. They often use rotor-type propellers and can hover at various heights.

Pilot sightings of drones near airports jumped from 238 in 2014 to 650 as of Aug. 9 this year, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

Pilots on four planes reported drone sightings as they approached Newark Liberty International Airport on Sunday. Recently, the FAA has received reports about near-collisions at airports in New York, Minneapolis and Austin.

No sightings have been reported at the Unity airport, Monzo said.

“I think they're a very useful tool. You don't want to eliminate them altogether; you just want people to realize they're within the parameters of the airport and they have to use caution,” he said.

“Drones have not been an issue at Pittsburgh International or Allegheny County Airport,” said Robert Kerlik, spokesman for the Allegheny County Airport Authority.

The authority is not working with any municipalities on regulations, but members are keeping up with the topic of drones, he said.

The last report of an unidentified drone the authority has is from June 2014, when one flew over PNC Park during a Pirates game.

Pennsylvania requires drones to fly below 400 feet and keep a line of sight from the operator to the aircraft. The FAA requires the operator to notify either the airport operator or control tower if flying within 5 miles of an airport.

Other regulations are evolving on both the state and federal levels to accommodate users while ensuring safety, said Justin Towles, staff vice president of regulatory and legislative affairs with the American Association of Airport Executives.

Monzo recently joined a group of members discussing drone regulations with the Alexandria, Va.-based organization, hosting a November conference in Las Vegas dedicated to the topic.

“There's a lot of work that needs to happen,” Towles said. “We want to make sure the right information is getting out there and it's widespread and the users of UAS (unmanned aircraft systems) follow the rules.”

Accountability ­— linking a serial number on the drone to a registered owner, for example — and enforceability are major concerns on the federal, state, and local levels, Towles said.

In Unity, the township is considering setting a distance requirement from runways and limiting the height at which a drone is allowed to fly.

Rostraver Commissioner Pat Egros said an ordinance there could help dictate how leaders approach unmanned aircraft near Rostraver Airport.

“Their airport (in Unity) carries far more air traffic than what we do,” but the Rostraver facility will take any recommendations from the Westmoreland County Airport Authority, which oversees both airports, Egros said. “We will be looking into it in the future for safety as far as air traffic and patterns.”

In 2013, Conoy Township in Lancaster County was one of the first governing bodies in the state to pass an ordinance limiting use of drones to a resident's property. The township's 18 square miles contain 3,452 residents. It's located 6 miles from Harrisburg International Airport and south of Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station.

Conoy Supervisor Steve Mohr said the ordinance was passed after he spotted a drone hovering over a farm for sale in the area. It was being used to photograph real estate.

While Township Supervisor Steve Mohr's concerns about drones were rooted in privacy issues, he encouraged Unity officials not to wait for federal regulations to catch up.

“That ‘wait and see' doesn't work,” he said. “They need to address it pretty swiftly.”