(Bloomberg) — As U.S. regulators study how to govern commercialdrones, corporate America is plunging ahead on using unmannedaircraft in a bid to speed the process and win concessions onproposed restrictions.

Large companies including American International Group Inc.,Chevron Corp. and BNSF Railway Co. are planning flight trials toinspect storm damage, pipelines and railroad tracks. Union PacificCorp. will employ its 7-pound drones to monitor derailments ofhazardous materials.

The tests come amid complaints from critics led by Amazon.comInc. that the Federal Aviation Administration is impedingtechnology that is being deployed rapidly abroad and could reshapeeverything from industrial inspections to farmland management.While Amazon works on futuristic cargo carriers, other companiesare seeking less-restrictive rules as they begin to get unmannedaerial vehicles into U.S. skies.

"I don't think any of us are out to do this because it's a coolthing to do," Lynden Tennison, Union Pacific's chief informationofficer, said in an interview. "We're out to do it because webelieve it has business benefits."

Drones' potential will be a centerpiece this week in Atlanta asmanufacturers and users gather for the annual trade show for theAssociation for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International. The FAAwill be urged to move quickly on permanent rules.

Reviewing Comments

The agency proposed regulations in February to lift the currentban on the commercial use of drones weighing less than 55 pounds(25 kilograms) while imposing restrictions. Final rules may be morethan a year away as regulators assess about 4,500 public comments.Other regulations cover drones' recreational use.

Safety advocates welcome the FAA's caution, but the plannedrestrictions remain onerous to drone makers and customers: noflying beyond line of sight, no nighttime flights, no operatingnear people — and the list goes on.

Last year, the FAA agreed to grant exemptions for companieswanting to test drones, and has issued 247 waivers since September.About a dozen went to large companies.

The agency created the exemption so commercial users could startflying even as it follows its usual rulemaking procedure, spokesmanLes Dorr said. The FAA's main priority is to keep the flying publicsafe, he said.

Pipeline Inspections

Chevron is proceeding with development of unmanned aircraft tocheck pipelines, according to Christian Sanz, chief executiveofficer of Skycatch, a drone and software maker working with theoil company. The catch: Chevron's operators would be miles from thedrones, while the FAA requires them to be in sight. If the ruleisn't relaxed by the time the UAVs are ready to fly, the tests willbe done outside the U.S., Sanz said.

"You have all these multibillion-dollar companies knocking onthe door saying, 'We want to use this now and you need to make iteasier,'" said Sanz. He predicts the FAA eventually will drop theline-of-sight requirement.

Amazon, which is developing drones to deliver packages, has beenespecially critical of the FAA. A proposed agency rule wouldrequire drones to be under an operator's direct control, whileAmazon's craft, flying at least 200 feet off the ground, would beguided by computers and sensors.

In testimony to a U.S. Senate subcommittee in March, PaulMisener, Amazon's vice president for global public policy,criticized regulators for paying little heed to rules for suchautonomous flight.

'Slow Pace'

"This low level of government attention and slow pace areinadequate, especially compared to the regulatory efforts in othercountries," Misener said in a transcript of his testimony.

Amazon also complained it took six months to receive anexemption, compared with two months or less in other countrieswhere it's experimenting with delivery drones. In an April 24filing with the FAA, Amazon said its drones should be allowed tofly if they're not at risk of a collision or a crash.

Most countries, including Canada, the U.K. and Japan, alreadyhave permanent laws in place to fly commercial drones. In Japan,farmers use unmanned aircraft to apply pesticides to theirfields.

The agency has been one of the biggest "roadblocks" to thecommercial drone industry's growth, said Colin Guinn, chief ofsales and marketing for dronemaker 3D Robotics, which is supplyingBNSF and AIG with their aircraft. The FAA pays too little notice tohow drones flying for business could save lives by replacingpiloted helicopters and planes, he said.

Death Toll

"Every single year there are multiple deaths from people flyingover power lines taking pictures," Guinn said.

BNSF plans to use drones to supplement inspection of track andbridges, spokesman Michael Trevino said.

Union Pacific next wants to use drones to check on railroadradio towers that stretch as high as 400 feet and now requireinspectors to scale them, Tennison said. Drones would make the workfaster and safer, he said.

AIG already is making inspection flights with drones in NewZealand, said Eric Martinez, chief of claims and operations. Withunmanned aircraft, the insurer will be able to surveynatural-disaster damage with greater speed, detail and safety thanrelying on workers on ladders and mobile lifts.

"Previously we either wouldn't have had access to thisinformation, would have had to wait, or in some cases collect itwith hands-on methods," Martinez said by e-mail.

Caution Praised

Pilots and small-plane makers say the FAA is right to movecarefully. Adding commercial drones to U.S. airspace dwarfs thetransition to jets from piston planes and the debut of helicopters,said Walter Desrosier, a vice president with the General AviationManufacturers Association trade group.

"Industry is going 1,000 miles per hour with all-newtechnologies, capabilities and products," Desrosier said. "And theFAA and the government in terms of how it establishes newregulations and safety standards can only go 50 miles perhour."

Drone mishaps have stoked critics' concerns. In January, a manin Washington lost control of a recreational drone thatcrash-landed on the White House lawn. Last year, a military droneweighing about 375 pounds slammed down near a Pennsylvaniaelementary school during an exercise and was struck by avehicle.

"There a sizable number of restrictions," Union Pacific'sTennison said. "The FAA has been listening and is recognizing thisis an evolving area for them and that it will require change overtime."