In 2018, the FAA’s 5-year re-authorization bill defined a new class of UAS, the “Public Actively Tethered Unmanned Aircraft System”. This is a new and accessible tool to Public Safety Organizations and this talk will outline the definition, differentiation both technologically and legally from traditional drones, and case study review of real-world use of this new class of UAS over the past 12 months.
HR 302 defines this new class of UAS within the following framework:
- 4.4 lbs. total take-off weight maximum
- Physical attachment to a ground station with a persistently taut, load-rated tether providing continuous power
- Control and retrieval of the UAS is through physical manipulation of the tether
The differences between Public Actively Tethered UAS (PATUAS), free-flying drones, and even traditional tethered UAS is important to understand for any Public Safety organizations looking to use this new available tool in first response applications and this session will outline these differences clearly.
Legally, PATUAS are permitted by the FAA to be used by any Public Safety team member without a pilot license, without a COA, and without airworthiness certifications. This relieves Public Safety organizations from the need to have trained pilots on the scene to gain aerial situational awareness, creating a new open-access class of UAS available to these teams. This session will describe the additional legal parameters around the use of PATUAS in Public operations.
Finally, in-depth case studies on how PATUAS have been deployed across the US in the last 12 months will be presented with a focus on fire and rescue applications, followed by 10 minutes of open Q&A.