Questions 46-50 The Federal Aviation Administration in U.S. announced in October, 2015 that all drones will be required to be registered with
the federal government. After hundreds of close calls with commercial aircraft, the use of drones near airports has spurred suppression
on recreational flyers.
Flying these small unmanned aerial vehicles has always been with risks. The use of drones near airports isn’t the only concern.
Several dozen drone crashes into buildings and upon pedestrians have been reported. Drones have come under scrutiny as more and
more commercial and enthusiast owners are taking to the skies and more accidents continue to occur. Identifying the pilots behind
rogue drones, and making the skies safer, is the driving force behind this new task force.
The drone law is up and running now. It has been issued and revised since February, 2015 by the drone task force consisted of
government and industry officials. The owners of drone should register the types and weights of drones that should meet with the
criteria before taking into the skies. Failure to register an aircraft can result in a civil fine of up to $27,500 or a criminal fine up to
$250,000 and potentially three years in jail. All owners need to provide is a name, home address and email address, which will
generate a certificate of registration and unique ID number to be placed on the drone. The location should be 5 miles from airports
without prior notification to airport and air traffic control. A further restriction has been made to the age of drone owner. The
minimum age for a Remote Pilot in Command is now 16 years old.
It’s expected that operators of certain drones in the U.S. will be required to register their aerial vehicle’s serial number, along
with their name and personal information. Once the registration process begins, each drone will then be traceable back to the owner in
the event of a crash or injury.
However, at present the drone law is applied to casual drone user who flies for fun. Commercially drone users for aerial
photography, scientific purposes, search-and-rescue operations and industrial applications are exempted by the FAA to deploy drones
in their business. The exemption process still requires pilots to demonstrate they plan to use their drones in a safe guideline provided
by the FAA. The commercial use of drones is currently subject to regulatory scrutiny at both the federal and state levels.
【題組】46. According to the passage, the registration of unmanned airplanes is ___.
(A) mandatory
(B) optional
(C) diversified
(D) unnecessary