I do wonder about balance in drone safety, though...
...for instance, Zipline is doing amazing things in Rwanda improving the medical (okay, blood) logistics system drastically. They're legitimately saving lives regularly. But what they're doing is practically illegal in the US due to the way safety regulations are put together (although they have indeed achieved a very high degree of safety and work closely with ATC, etc... it's not the wild west). Some of that is logical... Rwanda is a developing country with a great need that overcomes a lot of safety concerns. But doubtless lives could be saved if similar drones were allowed in the US.
Second: FAA regulations have already slowed the development of electric aircraft in the US which has significant climate consequences and thus can indirectly lead to lives lost...
...that all said, I think the NTSB and FAA do a good job. Particularly the NTSB.
Zipline is doing good work. I think we will get there, it’s just going to take time. Acting FAA administrator Dan Elwell gave a great speech at InterDrone last year about the safety aspect.[1] Personally, I think in some ways parts of industry are slowing down progress. State and local will be key players, the FAA knows this, but industry seems to believe they shouldn’t be involved and below 400’ should be like class e & g airspace with no rights for property owners. If the Uniform Law Commission settles on 200’ that could be a good thing. [2] Then assuming the FAA authorizes a system as safe, private property owners could conduct BVLOS flights over their property (i.e. ranches, mines). Or assuming state and local are involved, they could authorize flights over public routes. The airspace below 400’ will more likely resemble class A airspace than anything else and will have to involve state and local for planning. No magical UTM solution will solve it alone. [3] It will be a combination of technology and operations.
The US already has a good blood distribution system so I doubt many lives would be saved by adding drones. Our major problem is convincing enough eligible people to donate.
The US, like the rest of the world, has about a 7 percent spoilage rate. Rwanda, due to the just-in-time drone delivery network covering the ~entire country, has virtually zero. And rural hospitals in the US have more of a logistics challenge than you might think. Quality and access to care suffers a lot, and maternal mortality has actually gone up in recent years. Something like Zipline could significantly help.
...for instance, Zipline is doing amazing things in Rwanda improving the medical (okay, blood) logistics system drastically. They're legitimately saving lives regularly. But what they're doing is practically illegal in the US due to the way safety regulations are put together (although they have indeed achieved a very high degree of safety and work closely with ATC, etc... it's not the wild west). Some of that is logical... Rwanda is a developing country with a great need that overcomes a lot of safety concerns. But doubtless lives could be saved if similar drones were allowed in the US.
Second: FAA regulations have already slowed the development of electric aircraft in the US which has significant climate consequences and thus can indirectly lead to lives lost...
...that all said, I think the NTSB and FAA do a good job. Particularly the NTSB.