(Bloomberg) -- U.S. aviation regulators have granted thefirst approval for commercial drone flights at night in the latestexample of the expanding uses of unmanned aircraft.

Industrial SkyworksUSA, a Maumee, Ohio-based company that uses drones forindustrial inspections, had been in talks with the Federal AviationAdministration for more than a year in an attempt to convince theaviation agency that it could operate safely after dark.

“It’s been quite a struggle,” Michael Cohen, IndustrialSkyworks’ president, said in an interview. “It’s the FAA trendingin the right direction.”

The agency will require more stringent pilot requirements thanit has imposed on other commercial operators to ensure theyunderstand the potential risks of flying at night, according to theagency’s exemption dated April 18. Drones also must be equippedwith lights to keep them visible to the operator on the ground andto other aircraft.

FAA has granted 4,951 waivers allowing commercial drone flightswhile it finalizes formal regulations allowing such flights,according to its website. The Industrial Skyworks’ approval was thefirst allowing flights after sunset, according to an e-mailedstatement from the agency on Thursday.

Roof inspections

Industrial Skyworks is the U.S. subsidiary of Industrial SkyworksInc. of Toronto. The company’s law firm, Pillsbury Winthrop ShawPittman LLP, told the FAA it was safer to use unmanned vehicles instead of humans forhazardous work such as roof inspections.

In recent months, the FAA has taken steps to broaden droneapprovals. It is crafting a new approval process for lighterunmanned craft, which would give companies and hobbyists moreflexibility to fly near crowds. It also said in March it wouldgrant approvals for commercial operators to fly at higheraltitudes.

The agency is finalizing regulations to allow commercial droneflights without the current waiver process. The proposed rule,issued on Feb. 15, would have restricted such flights to daytimeonly.

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