November 23, 2016

ALPA Presents 4-Pronged UAS Safety Solution to Canada's House of Commons

Capt. Dan Adamus, president of ALPA’s Canada Board, testified before the Transport, Infrastructure and Communities Committee on Tuesday, detailing the union’s approach to safely integrating unmanned aircraft systems into Canada’s national airspace system through education, registration, technology, and penalties and enforcement.

“Canada has seen a rapid rise in reported UAS occurrences, with a tenfold increase in drone encounters year-over-year,” Adamus said. “The safety of the NAS must be maintained to deliver the safest and most efficient air transportation services in the world.” His testimony included several recommendations for Parliament and Transport Canada to consider, including definitive authority in naming the government arm responsible for regulating UAS, regardless of size or end user.

“Government and industry must take a longer view of this present state of technology to ensure that robust safety systems, in tandem with TC-certified redundant systems of UAS, are developed,” Adamus concluded. “UAS must completely integrate with commercial airline operations and, above all, do so safely.”

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