FAA Could Ground Amazon Drones

Amazon claims that the proposed federal drone regulations would kill its Prime Air delivery. The FAA released a draft of rules on Sunday, but Amazon's vice president for global policy, Paul Misener, said the prohibitions "wouldn't allow Prime Air to operate in the United States.'' Under the proposed policy, drones cannot fly over the homes of people not involved in the delivery, and the drones must be operated by a person-on-the-ground who can maintain visual contact with them. "That means we really are not talking about unmanned aerial vehicles. We are talking about something that has to have a person. It defeats the whole purpose," said Michael E. Drobac, executive director of the Small UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) Coalition, to which Amazon belongs.