Drone rules: FAA outlining new regulations

You do not have to look far to see drones are taking flight in the Miami Valley. When Jay Day is not flying them, he is selling them out of his "Dayton Drone" store at the Dayton Mall.

"The sky is the limit for real. Drones are a huge thing," said Day.

As the technology expands, so does their popularity. But, the Federal Aviation Administration wants to make sure drones do not crowd the skies. 

"When you look at introducing the new tech into the airspace, there are going to be safety concerns," said Deb Norris of Sinclair College. 

Norris helps run the Unmanned Aerial Systems program at Sinclair and she is in contact with the F-A-A about the rules to fly drones. Right now the rules say drones have to be flown under 400 feet, away from all airports and within line of sight. 

However, there have still been some close calls. In August, 2014, a drone prevented Careflight from landing at Miami Valley Hospital. 

"We were bringing a patient into Miami Valley Hospital and there was a drone or UAV flying at the fairgrounds and was in our flight path," said Beth Calcidise.

The chopper had to circle for nine minutes until the operator could be tracked down. There was a similar incident in Clark County in April. That drone operator was arrested after flying over the scene of an accident. Charges were later dropped.

We have also seen close calls in Seattle, with a drone buzzing a news helicopter and a surprise landing on the White House lawn. This is why the FAA, at the request of Congress, is outlining new rules and regulations. 

"There will be a certification that will be required and we think that's extremely important in order to operate these things safely," Norris said. "You need training and we think that's important." 

Rules could force operators to have a certificate, be at least 17, and fly drones no higher than 500 feet and no faster than 100 miles per hour. 

Jay Day said he is in favor of some of those potential rules. In fact, he won't let anyone buy a drone in his store without some training.

"A lot of the bigger drones, we won't even allow them to have unless they know what they're doing. They're certified by us so we know they're not going to hurt somebody," Day said.

It remains to be seen what the final rules will be. The FAA had until 2016 to make recommendations.