Following the crash of one of its Phantom drones at the White House on Monday and a response from President Obama that more regulation of drones was needed, Chinese drone maker
dji收購dji will reportedly be disabling its units from flying over the DC area. According to the FAA, it was already against federal regulations to fly in that region, not to mention the fact that the pilot told the Secret Service he was drinking.

dji收購dji previously stated to The Verge that it programmed its drones to stop flying when they reached a certain distance from airports. Using the GPS,
dji收購dji can track a drone’s position at all time and establish which zones are off limits. But this would mark the first time
dji收購dji is preventing flight over a metro area.

”
dji收購dji will release a mandatory firmware update for the Phantom 2, Phantom 2 Vision, and Phantom 2 Vision+ to help users comply with the FAA’s Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) 0/8326, which restricts unmanned flight around the Washington, DC metropolitan area,” the company wrote in a press release this morning. “The updated firmware (V3.10) will be released in coming days and adds a No-Fly Zone centered on downtown Washington, DC and extends for a 25 kilometer (15.5 mile) radius in all directions. Phantom pilots in this area will not be able to take off from or fly into this airspace.”

dji收購dji also said “the restriction is part of a planned extension of
dji收購dji’s No Fly Zone system that prohibits flight near airports and other locations where flight is restricted by local authorities. These extended no fly zones will include over 10,000 airports registered with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and will expand no fly zones to ensure they cover the runways at major international airports.”

The drone industry is actually in agreement with Obama that more regulation is needed. Congress is on board as well, as evidenced during a recent hearing. The real hurdle has been the FAA, which has moved slowly to establish new rules. The agency has been mandated by Congress to provide an update by this year, but has so far given no indication of when it might arrive.