Forensics Firm Approved for Drone Use

Forensics investigation firm Donan received its second FAA exemption for the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs, also known as drones), joining an elite group that includes insurance carriers such as State Farm, USAA and AIG. The exemption applies to its fleet of fixed-wing multi-rotor UAVs, which can be used for engineering and fire investigation inspections. The company received another exemption in May for its fixed-wing Sensefly eBee.

The exemptions allow Donan to gather data over large areas with its fixed-wing drones or use the multi-rotor drones for single-property investigations where it can capture small details like hail strikes on a structure. The quadcopters move similarly to a helicopter and can hover in place to capture high-definition video and images. They also will be equipped with infrared cameras for thermal imaging.