Comment on FAA Petition for 55lb Agricultural UAS Night Operations Exemption
Summary
A comment was submitted to the FAA's regulatory docket supporting a petition for exemption under 49 U.S.C. § 44807 and 14 C.F.R. Part 11. The petition requests authorization for commercial agricultural-related UAS operations using aircraft weighing 55 pounds or more, permitting up to 3 simultaneous operations under a single pilot in command without visual observers, during night visual line-of-sight conditions in visual meteorological conditions.
“Grant Petition for an Exemption to Conduct Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Operations Allowed by Special authority for certain unmanned aircraft systems.”
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This is every Federal Aviation Administration document posted to regulations.gov, the federal rulemaking portal: airworthiness directives, special conditions, exemption petitions and grants, airspace proposals, and consultation notices on safety regulations. Around 270 a month. The FAA uses regulations.gov as its primary publication channel for technical airworthiness work that does not warrant a Federal Register entry, so this feed catches a layer of detail other tracking tools miss. Watch this if you operate commercial drones, manufacture aircraft components, hold a Part 135 certificate, or advise clients on UAS exemptions. GovPing surfaces each posting with the docket ID, document type, agency contact, and comment deadline where applicable.
What changed
A comment was filed in FAA docket FAA-2026-4557 responding to a petition for exemption. The petition seeks authorization to operate UAS weighing 55 pounds or more for commercial agricultural services, including night visual line-of-sight operations, without visual observers, under 14 C.F.R. Part 11 and the special authority granted by 49 U.S.C. § 44807.
Affected parties include commercial agricultural UAS operators, drone service providers, and agricultural businesses seeking to expand night operations for crop monitoring, spraying, or other services. Operators should monitor the FAA docket for any final determination on the exemption request and be aware that current regulations may restrict such operations absent an exemption.
Archived snapshot
Apr 24, 2026GovPing captured this document from the original source. If the source has since changed or been removed, this is the text as it existed at that time.
Comment
Summary Grant Petition for an Exemption to Conduct Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Operations Allowed by Special authority for certain unmanned aircraft systems. Title 49 U.S.C. § 44807, and 14 C.F.R. Part 11 to Authorize Commercial Agricultural- Related Services with UAS Weighing 55 Pounds or More. Up to 3 simultaneously, by a Single Pilot in Command (PIC), Without the Services of a Visual Observer (VO), During Night Visual Line of Sight (VLOS), in Visual Meteorological Conditions.
Attachments 1
44807 Trey McCants
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