NTSB looking for help managing its fleet of drones
The National Transportation Safety Board is hoping to streamline its use of drone technology, according to a recent federal contracts posting.
The independent federal agency is hoping to track its growing fleet of uncrewed aerial systems, or UAS, which it currently uses to investigate accidents, and the NTSB now says it’s looking for a cloud-based software provider that can provide fleet management services. This fleet is supposed to help the agency document transportation accidents — which the NTSB is charged with investigating — including capturing videography and photography of accidents and conducting mapping and photogrammetry.
The hope, the agency says, is that this software will help boost the efficiency of the drone program — and make it easier for NTSB to respond to public records requests. Currently, the agency has no centralized way of tracking its drone assets, according to the posting.
“Until recently, the NTSB has been operating the UAS program under a proof of concept with limited flight crew and resources,” the posting states. “This archaic and inefficient paper documentation process places the agency at risk in properly maintaining a robust safety management system (SMS) required of all federal flight programs.”
The NTSB’s drone program, while small, is growing. The agency has been operating a drone program since 2016, and until recently had just five aircraft, four active members of the crew, and one lead. The posting states that the UAS Flight Operations Program was commissioned recently and that its aircraft now numbers 12, with its staff up to 15.
The update is a reminder that as NTSB increases its focus on investigating drone use and drone-related accidents, the agency is also using the technology itself.
This story was updated Sept. 18, 2024, to correct the fact that NTSB is an independent agency.
