US states challenge FAA drone delivery review over noise and safety concerns

Fifteen US states and Harris County, Texas, have challenged the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) environmental review of commercial drone deliveries in federal court, as residents in one Dallas suburb say repeated drone flights have turned their backyards into a buzzing nightmare.

The coalition filed its petition on September 28, 2026, in the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. The states want the court to throw out the FAA’s environmental review, arguing that the agency failed to adequately examine the effects of expanding drone deliveries.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta said the assessment lacked meaningful information about the places where those operations would take place and did not sufficiently address potential safety risks and other environmental impacts.

The FAA signed its finding of “no significant impact” on July 28, 2026. The assessment covers delivery hubs that companies could establish at existing businesses, including parking lots and rooftops.

The agency says it intends to use the assessment when considering individual operators’ applications, although additional environmental analysis may still be required for particular projects or operations. The locations of future hubs and service areas would become known as companies apply for approvals.

In Richardson, Texas, some residents say the noise from Amazon’s Prime Air drones is already disrupting daily life.

“It’s constant — it’s like a beehive up there right over our house,” resident Scott Bratcher told NBC’s TODAY show.

Another resident, Stephanie Puri, told The New York Times she counted 52 drone passes over her home in a single day and could hear them indoors even with the television on. Homeowner Nikki Anderson said the repeated flights had driven her family inside to escape the buzzing.

Amazon has defended the service. The company told the outlets that fewer than 1% of Prime Air inquiries this year concerned noise and described the sound as brief and comparable to a low window fan or passing car.

The states joining the challenge are New York, California, Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington and Wisconsin. Harris County is also a petitioner, but the state of Texas is not.The post US states challenge FAA drone delivery review over noise and safety concerns appeared first on AeroTime.

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