Court Quashes Drone Registration

https://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/new...-229025-1.html
Court Quashes Drone Registration

By Russ Niles

A Washington court has quashed the FAA’s drone registration program.
The court ruled Friday that the registration rule violates the FAA
Modernization and Reform Act, passed by Congress in 2012, that
specifically bars the FAA from creating “any rule or regulation
regarding a model aircraft.” Since December of 2015, the FAA has
required drone owners to register drones weighing between .55 pounds
and 55 pounds by filling out an online form and paying $5. ?

The FAA is considering its next move. It could appeal the ruling but
that could be a lengthy and expensive process since it was a panel of
three judges that quashed the rule. A more direct route would be to
have Congress include a registration requirement in the FAA
reauthorization bill that must be passed by September. The
registration program was enacted to provide some measure of control
and legal leverage over an explosion of consumer drones on the market.
So far 820,000 drones have been registered. The ruling came from a
challenge by model aircraft buff and insurance lawyer John A. Taylor.
The judges agreed that the program “directly violates [a] clear
statutory prohibition."