The FAA said the initiative is intended to figure out how to safely allow the sophisticated operations that the commercial drone industry has been clamoring for and that are necessary to enable applications such as package delivery.
Under the project, Time Warner Inc. unit CNN will use drones to film in urban areas, BNSF will use them to fly hundreds of miles to inspect its railroads, and drone-maker PrecisionHawk Inc. will fly them beyond sight of the operator to collect data on crops.
FAA Works With CNN, BNSF to Study Drone Flights - WSJ