Like the app design. Some controlled airspace in this app will approve LAANC when others will not and show LAANC inactive restricted areas. I was happy to see some areas were accessible if I use this app, comparing to other developers this may be the closest representation of the FAA UAS Data Map.
Developer Response
Hi Robert,
Your review appears to question the accuracy of the information provided in our app based on the fact that it “will approve LAANC when others will not.” Inconsistencies between various apps do not mean that ANY of them are incorrect. This may seem counterintuitive, but I will explain why that is.
LAANC is a collaboration between the FAA and FAA-approved UAS Service Providers (USS), which allows drone pilots to request authorization to operate in controlled airspace.
The role of the USS is solely to transmit your information to the FAA, and then relay the approval or denial back to the pilot. The actual decision is made by the FAA not by the USS or an app. If you received an approval or denial via any app, it came from the FAA.
It is important to note that the FAA only has jurisdiction over controlled, restricted, and prohibited airspace, and cannot authorize operations within airspace that is restricted at state, city, county, or local level. The FAA also cannot authorize operations within areas that are within the jurisdiction of other federal agencies, such as the National Park Service or the Department of Defense. Nor can it authorize operations over private property. Drone pilots are responsible for checking for these kinds of restrictions, and no app can guarantee that none of these restrictions exist at all locations.
The FAA requires that USS’s provide certain minimum airspace data, that it be obtained directly from the FAA, and that it be current. The data that it requires is limited to controlled, restricted, and prohibited airspace, national security areas, and stadium areas. Some USSs, including our company, choose to go beyond that, which may be a reason for the inconsistencies you observed across apps.
With respect to the airspace that MUST be displayed, the FAA ensures the accuracy of the data by conducting random audits and validating each submission. Failure to provide accurate airspace data can result in termination of the USS. We take this requirement seriously. We update our airspace data daily, and have our own internal QC process to ensure accuracy of all data.
Your concern, like most pilots, is that you submit an authorization, it is approved, but the FAA then violates you because the approval was based on invalid data. This is not possible because it is the FAA that approves operations, and also because it validates all submissions.
For each submission, the USS must submit the airspace data that it presented to the user, and the FAA checks it to ensure that it matches the current data. If it does not, the FAA will not accept the submission, and this will be displayed as an error in our app. If you did not receive an error, and the submission resulted in an actual approval or denial, then the airspace data is correct.
So how can different apps provide what appears to be contradictory information? Your review does not identify a specific scenario, but we do receive several emails a week raising this concern. In every case, our app was correct, and in most cases, the other app(s) were also correct.
One reason is that some USS providers go further than the FAA requires, by providing information about airspace that is restricted at state, city, county, or local level, or restrictions by other federal agencies such as national parks.
For example, one user contacted us to let us know that another app stated that operations within a park in California were prohibited, which is correct. California, like most states, prohibits the operation of drones within parks. The reason we do not include such restrictions is that there is no nationwide database of those types of restrictions (or even a nationwide geo-referenced database of all parks).
We believe it would be irresponsible to include a limited amount of data about a specific type of restriction (e.g., parks) because the absence of data at a particular park suggests that there is no restriction, when it only means that no data is available. This other app, for example, did not include any park restrictions in Arizona where we are based, however, that would net the drone pilot a hefty fine.
Our app does include National Park areas, which roughly half of USS apps include. Even though the FAA does not currently require these to be displayed, this information is disseminated at the federal level and is kept current. Moreover, the FAA will require USSs to provide this information in the future.
A third reason is that the submissions are not identical. In some cases, the time and pin location varied enough to provide a different (and correct) result. Or it was the same location and time, but different day where the airspace schedule changed.
Another reason is that USSs have some latitude in certain scenarios whether to block an entire operation or submit it in part. For example, if someone creates a flight that requires further coordination in part and can be auto approved in part, the USS may flag the entire thing as further coordination.
USSs may also process restricted area schedules and only flag them when active. However, we do not feel that the data is not yet reliable enough to be able to guarantee its accuracy. However, there are plans by the FAA include this as part of the LAANC service in the future once the issues are sorted out.
These are just some examples. As a rule, we only provide data that is (1) required as part of the LAANC service by the FAA, (2) optional, but reliable enough to be included as an additional service to drone pilots.
We would be happy to look in detail into your specific scenarios and explain the results.
If after reviewing this additional information you feel that I’ve adequately explained the issue you raised, we would truly appreciate you updating your review. We feel our app does provide accurate data, and we are extremely responsive when these kinds of concerns are communicated directly to us.
Robert CK
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