FAA authorizes Skyways to fly a drone beyond visual line of sight from Louisiana to a Shell platform in the Gulf
The FAA announced the authorization on November 9 and called it the first of its kind. The agency says it used a waiver under Section 927 of the 2024 FAA reauthorization law, not a rulemaking or an exemption.
By Joel Kelly
Decision brief
The FAA describes an authorization for one operator, Skyways, on one route. The release announces no rule change. The agency says it acted through a waiver under Section 927 of the 2024 law. Its Part 108 rule for flight beyond visual line of sight is still under White House review.
- Operator
- Skyways
- Route
- Gibson, LA to the Gulf
- Authority
- Section 927
Flying its autonomous V2 vertical takeoff and landing aircraft
From Shell's SPLC facility to a Shell platform
A waiver, not a rulemaking or an exemption, the FAA says
The authorization
One operator, from the Louisiana coast to an offshore platform.
The FAA said on November 9 that it issued a "first of its kind authorization" for a drone flight over the Gulf. It lets a drone "fly beyond the operator's visual line of sight from the U.S. coastline over the Gulf of America," the agency says. The operator is Skyways.
The FAA says Skyways may fly its autonomous V2 aircraft, which takes off and lands vertically, from Shell's SPLC facility in Gibson, Louisiana, to a Shell platform in the Gulf. The flight will include a pipeline right-of-way inspection, the agency says. It will also include a simulated delivery of equipment to the platform. The release gives no flight date and no distance.
The legal path
The FAA says it used a waiver under the 2024 reauthorization law.
The FAA says it acted under Section 927 of the 2024 reauthorization law. The agency says that section lets it approve certain drone operations "through a waiver, rather than through rulemaking or an exemption." Section 927 amended 49 U.S.C. 44807 and extended that authority to September 30, 2033. It also added a line on waivers. The FAA Administrator may use the authority, it says, "including waiving applicable parts of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, without initiating a rulemaking."
Part 108
The BVLOS rule is still under White House review.
Liam McKenna, the acting FAA deputy administrator, said the agency is working with industry "to move beyond traditional operating limitations." Michael Kratsios directs the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. He said the administration is working "to establish a regulatory framework that enables these capabilities safely and at scale." The FAA's Part 108 rule is RIN 2120-AL82. It was still listed as Pending Review at the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs when we checked on November 10.
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