Weekly UAS News Update

Welcome to your weekly UAS news update. We have three stories for you this week: a swimmer rescued by a fisherman and his drone, Kyle Nordfors receiving a prestigious award, and Pierce Aerospace partnering with MITRE for Remote ID research. Let’s dive in.

Drone Saves Swimmer in Florida

First up, a heartwarming “Drones for Good” story from Pensacola, Florida, on May 15. Shark fisherman Andrew Smith found himself in a life-or-death situation just 10 minutes after arriving at a new fishing spot. A girl ran up, screaming for help because another girl was drowning, caught in a dangerous rip current. Andrew, who has a seizure disorder that prevents him from swimming, saw the girl struggling and being pulled farther out. Time was critical.

Andrew typically uses a drone for fishing to position bait at a distance, as his medical condition makes kayaking unsafe. He attached a flotation device to his drone and, despite being nervous and shaking, attempted a rescue. On his first try, he released the device too early, missing the girl. A bystander provided a second flotation device, and this time, Andrew carefully flew the drone, lowered the device deliberately, and released it when the girl could grab it. She held on and stayed afloat until First Responders arrived five minutes later. Local authorities, including Police, EMS, and lifeguards, told Andrew that if his second attempt had failed, she likely would not have survived.

Andrew, great job! If you’re watching and want to learn more about drones or get Part 107 certified, we’d be happy to offer you a free course of your choice to support your heroic efforts.

Kyle Nordfors Honored with Unsung Hero Award

Next, we celebrate one of our guest instructors, Kyle Nordfors, who teaches our Search and Rescue course. Kyle is the UAS team coordinator for the Weber County Sheriff’s Office in Utah and the UAS chairman for the Mountain Rescue Association. This week, he received the Unsung Hero Award from the Global Search and Rescue Excellence Awards in London. Congratulations, Kyle!

Kyle and his team are doing incredible work, using drones equipped with thermal imaging and high-resolution cameras to transform search and rescue operations. What once took hours or days now often takes minutes. They’re also pioneering large drone operations, using drones over 55 pounds to deliver equipment to remote scenes. Weber County’s vast, rugged terrain, with elevation changes exceeding 5,000 feet, is the perfect testing ground for these innovations. Shoutout to Kyle and his amazing volunteer team for their lifesaving efforts.

Pierce Aerospace and MITRE Partner for Remote ID Research

Finally, Pierce Aerospace and MITRE have signed a memorandum of understanding to advance UAS and remote ID for complex missions. This partnership aims to integrate remote ID into the national airspace system, enabling safer and more complex operations. Pierce Aerospace will install sensors at MITRE’s National Range, a hub for collaboration among academia, government, and industry. Together, they’ll work on airspace detection, UAS, autonomous flights, and homeland security capabilities. This is a promising use of remote ID to manage air traffic in complex environments.

Quick Updates

• Nebraska Legislation: Two bills repealing country-of-origin bans for drones are on the governor’s desk. We’ll discuss this and other state updates in detail during our Postflight session in the premium community.
• Skyfish Osprey: Skyfish released the Osprey, a U.S.-made 13-pound drone with a 50-minute flight time, 61-megapixel camera, 80x zoom, and 3.25-mile radio link. More details in Postflight.

That’s it for this week. No live session on Monday due to the holiday, but we’ll be back next Friday for another news update. Have a great weekend, and we’ll see you next week!