Amazon.com can officially fly drones.
The electronic commerce company won approval from federal regulators to test its delivery drone outdoors, the Federal Aviation Administration announced Thursday.
The Seattle-based company is pursuing its goal of delivering small packages to customers via air across the country.
Under the provisions dictated in the experimental airworthiness certificate, all drones must be kept at 400 feet or below during daylight hours and in visual weather conditions.
“The [Unmanned Aircraft Systems] must always remain within visual line-of-sight of the pilot and observer. The pilot actually flying the aircraft must have at least a private pilot’s certificate and current medical certification,” the FAA said.
Amazon, which is leading the way for other e-commerce companies to do the same type of delivery, must provide monthly data to the FAA — this includes the number of drone flights conducted, any deviations from air traffic controllers’ instructions and any software malfunctions.
“At Amazon, our energy comes from inventing on behalf of customers,” the company’s associate general counsel, Stephanie Burns, said in a letter last month, asking for FAA approval. “Amazon Prime Air, a new delivery system that will get packages to customers in 30 minutes or less using small aerial vehicles, is one invention we are incredibly passionate about.”
According to Amazon’s “Prime Air” website, they are hiring as they wait for the drone delivery process — which was announced by the company in December 2013 — to be federally approved.
“We’re excited about Prime Air — a future delivery system from Amazon designed to safely get packages into customers’ hands in 30 minutes or less using small unmanned aerial vehicles,” the website says. “Putting Prime Air into service will take some time, but we will deploy when we have the regulatory support needed to realize our vision.”
“Prime Air” centers are currently being built and tested in the U.S., the United Kingdom and Israel.
