Patrick Rizzi

Firm/Organization: Hogan Lovells

Blogs: Droning On, Focus on Regulation, Global Media and Communications Watch

Latest Articles

Expanding Operations: U.S. Department of Transportation Announces Regulatory Actions for Expanded Drone Operations and Drone Security

By Matt Clark, Patrick Rizzi & Lisa Ellman

February 4, 2019

The benefits of commercial drones are substantial. However, current rules limit the commercial marketplace from being able to take advantage of some of drone technology’s most obvious safety and efficiency benefits. To capitalize on the life-saving and economic benefits of drones, companies need to be able to fly in urban and suburban environments, where people are. To respond to disasters, they may need to fly near cities. Countless commercial drone use cases rely on the…

Global Media and Communications Watch

Part 107 Progress Report: How’s It Going?

By Lisa Ellman, Gretchen West, Patrick Rizzi & Matt Clark

November 8, 2016

It’s now been over two months since Part 107, the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) new rule for the first time broadly authorizing commercial drone operations in the United States, went into effect. The commercial drone industry has hailed the rule as a critical step forward, and indeed it is. Drone operations that comply with the rule’s flight restrictions – including generally traveling no higher than 400 feet, within visual line of sight, away from people and…

Focus on Regulation

A New Regime: Making the Jump from Section 333 UAS Operations to Part 107

By Tazewell Ellett, Lisa Ellman, Michael Bell, Patrick Rizzi, Matt Clark & Jared A. Bomberg

June 23, 2016

We are at a watershed moment in aviation history. As we reported yesterday, the FAA and DOT finally released their Final Rule for the Operation and Certification of Small UAS (Part 107), which will broadly authorize commercial UAS operations in the U.S. With the release of Part 107, many Section 333 Exemption holders are left wondering how Part 107 will impact their exemptions. And for the 7,000+ petitioners stuck in the FAA’s backlog of…

Global Media and Communications Watch

Drones on Campus: FAA Opens Door to Expanded Student Drone Use in the Classroom

By Matt Clark & Patrick Rizzi

May 6, 2016

Colleges and universities across the country are finding new and innovative ways to use drones in the classroom. To name just a few, institutions of higher education are using drones to support research and learning in areas like precision agriculture, wildlife habitat monitoring, and aerial surveying and mapping. While speaking at the AUVSI annual conference in New Orleans this morning, FAA Administrator Michael Huerta announced the release of a new Legal Interpretation that…

Focus on Regulation

Drones on Campus: FAA Opens Door to Expanded Student Drone Use in the Classroom

By Matt Clark & Patrick Rizzi

May 4, 2016

Global Media and Communications Watch

FAA Releases Rule on UAS Registration Requirements

By Matt Clark, Lisa Ellman & Patrick Rizzi

December 16, 2015

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) estimates that nearly 800,000 small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), or drones, will be sold this holiday season, and expects sales of an additional 1.9 million UAS to hobbyist and recreational users in 2016. Over the past year we have witnessed a surge in news events involving careless operators misusing drones, including crashes at stadium sporting events and hundreds of incidents involving close-encounters between UAS and manned aircraft. In response to…

Focus on Regulation

FAA Releases Rule on UAS Registration Requirements

By Matt Clark, Lisa Ellman, Tazewell Ellett & Patrick Rizzi

December 15, 2015

Global Media and Communications Watch

BREAKING: DOT Accepting Public Comments on UAS Registration Requirements

By Lisa Ellman, Matt Clark & Patrick Rizzi

October 23, 2015

On Monday, October 19, the Department of Transportation (DOT) announced the creation of a task force charged with developing a registration process for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), or drones, for both commercial and hobbyist use. Secretary Foxx directed the task force to deliver its recommendations by November 20, with the goal of having final registration rules in place by mid-December. In a surprise move, DOT just published a document, Clarification of the Applicability of Aircraft Registration…

Focus on Regulation

BREAKING: The FAA Proposes US$1.9 Million Civil Penalty Against SkyPan International, Inc. for Unauthorized Commercial Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Flights

By Matt Clark & Patrick Rizzi

October 6, 2015

The FAA has proposed a US$1.9 million civil penalty against SkyPan International, Inc. of Chicago for unauthorized UAS operations. According to the FAA’s press release, SkyPan conducted unauthorized commercial UAS flights in some of the nation’s most congested airspace and over two of its most heavily populated cities, violating airspace regulations and various operating rules. The FAA alleges that the company conducted 65 unauthorized commercial UAS flights over various locations in New York City and…

Global Media and Communications Watch

The Mexican Civil Aviation Authority has issued a new mandatory circular for all Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) operations

By E. Tazewell Ellett, Ramon Bravo Herrera & Patrick Rizzi

May 27, 2015

On April 8, 2015, the DGAC issued a new mandatory circular CO AV-23/10 R2 that “establishes the requirements to operate RPAS” (the Circular) to be more in line with the regulatory regimes of other countries that have developed such regulations. The Circular supersedes and replaces the prior mandatory circular CO AV-23/10 R1. The Circular is applicable to : all individuals and entities that intend to operate or currently operate RPAS; all RPAS operating in Mexico,…

Patrick Rizzi

Expanding Operations: U.S. Department of Transportation Announces Regulatory Actions for Expanded Drone Operations and Drone Security

Part 107 Progress Report: How’s It Going?

A New Regime: Making the Jump from Section 333 UAS Operations to Part 107

Drones on Campus: FAA Opens Door to Expanded Student Drone Use in the Classroom

Drones on Campus: FAA Opens Door to Expanded Student Drone Use in the Classroom

FAA Releases Rule on UAS Registration Requirements

FAA Releases Rule on UAS Registration Requirements

BREAKING: DOT Accepting Public Comments on UAS Registration Requirements

BREAKING: The FAA Proposes US$1.9 Million Civil Penalty Against SkyPan International, Inc. for Unauthorized Commercial Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Flights

The Mexican Civil Aviation Authority has issued a new mandatory circular for all Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) operations

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