Whether used commercially for industrial inspections, aerial photography, border patrol, emergency deliveries and crop surveys or recreationally by millions, drones or unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) have the potential to become a multi-billion dollar business and deliver problem-solving technologies across numerous industries.
However, more drones in the skies also raise a number of new safety concerns, ranging from collisions and crashes to cyber-attacks and terrorism. To ensure safe UAS operations, systematic registration of unmanned aircraft and robust education and training of operators is necessary, according to a new report from aviation insurer, Allianz Global Corporate and Specialty (AGCS): Rise of the Drones: Managing the Unique Risks Associated with Unmanned Aircraft Systems.
“There have already been enough incidents and near-misses to date involving UAS to generate concern that the likelihood of collisions and other loss events will grow as numbers multiply,” James van Meter, an aviation practice leader at AGCS, says.
As drones are becoming smaller, cheaper and easier to use – and regulatory change, particularly in the US, lowers barriers to entry – growth prospects are surging: The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) forecasts that by the end of 2016 in the US over 600,000 UAS will be deployed for commercial use alone – three times the number of registered manned aircraft.
In addition, 1.9 million UAS are expected to be in recreational use. Globally, the UAS market is forecast to reach 4.7 million units, or higher, by 2020 with the market for commercial application of UAS technology estimated to soar from $2bn to $127 billion.
South Africa enacted regulations in 2015, and since then, four training organisations have been registered with aviation authorities. The country has 240 license holders and 418 drones. In Nigeria, UAS owners have to obtain permits from aviation and security authorities. All drones without permit have been banned from the country’s airspace.
For Kenya, various UAS projects such as those for tracking livestock theft, endangered species, and photography or instance were terminated after regulators imposed bans citing security concerns. The country’s draft regulations, which were shared with the public for comment early this year, have not been passed into law. Interestingly, one of the requirements requires drone operators to have adequate third party insurance cover.
Rwanda is currently building a drone port. They hope to have 18 of these nationally. The country approved its regulations early in the year and has committed to educating owners on safe operations during registration. The aviation authorities in Ghana have had safety regulations in place since 2011. The authorities have since published standards and practices to regulate the operations of drones.
“UAS in commercial use will increase greatly in the next decade because they are effective at carrying out menial or dangerous tasks,” Thomas Kriesmann, senior underwriter general aviation, AGCS, says.
Insurers are also increasingly utilising UAS to make risk assessment of construction or infrastructure projects easier and safer. Claims handling can also be made quicker and more effective by using drones to survey loss damage after major catastrophes.
For example, when parts of Tianjin, China, were rendered inaccessible after major explosions last year, high resolution images taken by UAS after the blasts where compared with previous photographs to determine how many vehicles had been destroyed. Allianz even supports a pilot-to-business marketplace, FairFleet, which links pilots with businesses in need of UAS, offering insurance coverage and claims settlement services.
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