The Federal Aviation Administration recently gave Amazon an "Experimental Airworthiness Certificate" that gives the company the ability to experiment with its Amazon Prime Air service.
The e-commerce giant has been working on a way to use drones to transport orders from a warehouse to a local destination since December 2013. The service, better known as Amazon Prime Air, would let users order a package and have it transported to their home within a short time span.
While the idea didn't receive a lot of positive feedback from customers, Amazon has been experimenting with the technology and working with the FAA to make it possible. Current FAA drone restrictions would make it impossible for the company to turn Prime Air into a viable and practical business model. The FAA did recently submit a potential set of rules that would provide Amazon some flexibility. But the agency requires all drones to be flown within eyesight of the pilot.
However, the new certificate could help Amazon work around the restrictions. The certificate would require all of Amazon's flight operations to be conducted at 400 feet or below during daylight hours in visual meteorological conditions. The drone cannot be flown out of the pilot's line-of-sight. The drone pilot is also required to have a private pilot's certificate and current medical certification.
While this isn't a huge improvement for Amazon, it does offer the company a chance to experiment and play around with the technology. It's also possible that the FAA will adjust the requirements in the near future and make it easier for Amazon drone pilots to fly their machines outside of their line-of-sight. But for the time being, Amazon is only in the testing phase.
