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Ag drone pilots urged to yield to manned aircraft

The agriculture aviation industry is starting the 2026 growing season by urging drone pilots to yield right-of-way to manned aircraft.

Jeramy Williams with Wisconsin-based American Drone tells Brownfield that airplanes, helicopters, and drones are all in the fields at the same time and at the same low altitudes, so safety is key. “Whether you have a drone or you have a big fixed-wing airplane, they’re all operating twenty feet off the ground so it is very important for you unmanned applicators to understand that you are sharing airspace.”

Williams says current regulations require drone pilots to yield to planes and helicopters, whose pilots might not see the drone. “Land the unmanned aircraft. Allow the manned aircraft to finish what they’re doing and leave the area. That by far is the safest approach.”

Williams says farmers and others using drones need to put safety first.  He says they can use an aviation radio to monitor 122.925 megahertz, which is assigned by the Federal Aviation Administration for use by ag applicators, to help know when an airplane or helicopter ag applicator is nearby.

In a survey conducted by the National Agricultural Aviation Association late last year, 20% of manned aerial application operators reported an unsafe encounter with a drone while operating an ag aircraft.

Williams says there are some detect-and-avoid technologies to help guide drones away from manned aircraft, but the technology has limitations.

The National Agricultural Aviation Association (NAAA) works with crewed and drone pilots and is at the forefront of aerial application safety and legislation.

AUDIO: Jeramy Williams discusses safety concerns with drone, airplane, and helicopter applications to fields at low altitudes with Brownfield’s Larry Lee.