Raleigh Drone Company Gains Access To Fly Beyond Line-Of-Sight

WUNC News | By Frank Stasio,

Charlie Shelton

Published September 7, 2016 at 12:31 PM EDT

Raleigh-based PrecisionHawk is the first company get approval by the F.A.A. to fly drones beyond the line-of-sight

Last week, the Raleigh-based company PrecisionHawk became the first company to acquire a waiver from the Federal Aviation Administration that allows pilots to fly commercial drones beyond the line-of-sight.

Commercial drones

PrecisionHawk uses drones for aerial data analysis in industries like agriculture. The F.A.A. waiver is an extension of new federal regulations that will allow more companies to use drones for commercial use.

Host Frank Stasio talks with Lauren Ohnesorge, reporter for the Triangle Business Journal, about how new regulations for commercial drone use will affect business.

Frank Stasio

Longtime NPR correspondent Frank Stasio was named permanent host of The State of Things in June 2006. A native of Buffalo, Frank has been in radio since the age of 19. He began his public radio career at WOI in Ames, Iowa, where he was a magazine show anchor and the station's News Director.

See stories by Frank Stasio

Charlie Shelton