State Farm Drones to Assess Hurricane Damage in First Approval
- Insurance company uses drones to assess losses from rain, wind
- FAA approves long-distance flights in states hit by Florence
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Drones will be allowed to fly long distances and over populated areas across four states to assess damage from Hurricane Florence, after U.S. aviation regulators granted the first such approvals to an insurance company.
Small, foam fixed-wing aircraft operated by State Farm Mutual Automobile Association Co., the largest U.S. property-casualty insurer, were deemed safe by the Federal Aviation Administration, the company and the agency said. State Farm has been working with researchers at Virginia Tech’s Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership, one of 10 locations selected earlier this year as test beds for drone research.