FAA Exemptions for Commercial Drone Use

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said on Wednesday it had granted exemptions to four companies to use drones commercially for aerial surveying, construction site monitoring and oil rig flare stack inspections.

The four companies, Trimble Navigation Limited, VDOS Global LLC, Clayco Inc and Woolpert Inc, said in their petitions to the FAA that they would operate drones weighing less than 55 pounds (25 kg) and keep them within line of sight at all times.

Reporting by Eric Beech