The major drawback in mixing UAVs with conventional aircraft today is the former’s questionable ability to see and avoid conflicting traffic, unionized air traffic controllers maintain.

Could automation provide a life-saving solution in the ultimate emergency — pilot incapacitation? Why not? responds David Vos, senior director, UAS business, at Rockwell Collins. Passenger-carrying aircraft could be fitted with a “panic button” that a crewmember or even a passenger could push if the pilots were unable to function, he believes. The button would engage automation that could safely fly the aircraft to the nearest suitable airport and land it.

How best to avoid a collision or incident with a UAV today? “Pay attention to the NOTAMs,” advises Kurt Barnhard, Ph.D., director of Kansas State University’s College of Technology and Aviation. “We are required to notify the pilot community 48 hours before we operate,” Barnhard said, referring to the test and training flights KSU students are conducting with smaller surveillance UAVs near the Salina campus.