really determine how ubiquitous these will be in the future. you can fly a drone for leisure as long as you keep it in your line of sight and you don t fly within five miles of an airport. but a lot of people point out that really limits their use. people that want to use them to survey outside of the line of sight, which is what you want a flying robot with a camera to do, to explore the world with you or anyone that wants to use them commercially, there s a bunch of different rules that apply to them. if you want to use the drone you got for christmas to take pictures of a house that you want to put up on a real estate website or do photography that you want to charge money for, you have to seek a special exemption. and that just makes the process a lot more complicated. but as long as you re using it for no monetary purpose, you re pretty much free to go if you stay within those rules. do you think when it comes to the issue of recreational drone use, is it a simply passing fad or
give your loved ones. plenty of gadgets and gizmos will be unwrapped and some of them will be in the air shortly thereafter. gio benitez reports that drones as gifts have taken off, for better or worse. reporter: forget simple gifts like sleds or snow globes. the christmas gifts flying off shelves this holiday season, drones. some stores reporting demand soaring. as more and more states try to figure out how to deal with private drone use, aviation officials are not only sounding the alarm but launching a new campaign. know before you fly. how do you make sure you stay off the naughty list? we want you to know before you fly. reporter: posting online safety videos easy for kids to understand. do fly your unmanned aircraft below 400 feet. don t fly your unmanned aircraft
your christmas shopping and found everything you wanted to give your loved ones. plenty of gadgets and gizmos will be unwrapped and some of them will be in the air shortly thereafter. gio benitez reports that drones as gifts have taken off, for better or worse. reporter: forget simple gifts like sleds or snow globes. the christmas gifts flying off shelves this holiday season, drones. some stores reporting demand soaring. as more and more states try to figure out how to deal with private drone use, aviation officials are not only sounding the alarm but launching a new campaign. know before you fly. how do you make sure you stay off the naughty list? we want you to know before you fly. reporter: posting online safety videos easy for kids to understand. do fly your unmanned aircraft below 400 feet. don t fly your unmanned aircraft
editors feel had the most effect on the news and our lives. among those covered is ebola survivor dr. kent brantley. brantley was honored tuesday for his medical missionary work. other 2014 contenders included the ferguson protesters, vladimir putin and taylor swift. this morning the faa announced it is clearing four more companies for commercial drone use. the agencies announcement on drones come amid mounting safety concerns, concerns highlight bid the faa s own report on near collisions between drones and passenger planes. rene marsh has more. reporter: it could be the closest a drone has ever come to crashing into a commercial jet filled with passengers. that s according to a report due this week from british safety investigators. the incident happened as the airbus a-320 was approaching london s heathrow airport. at 700 feet in the air, a high risk near collision.
the house of representatives today held a hearing on drone use in the united states which is quite restricted as of now. also today the federal aviation administration opened up a path for more companies to use drones, allowing four new businesses to conduct aerial surveys and monitor construction sites among other things bringing the total to 13. meanwhile, there have been several near collisions between drones and passenger planes which of course, has been raising serious safety questions. joining me to discuss it all, is cnn correspondent, renee marsh. renee, something else for me to fear when i get on an airplane. right. as if your list isn t long enough, right, jake? so here s the prediction. in the next five years there will be 7500 drones in the skies. so here s the thing, without any strong regulation and enforcement, it could be a disaster waiting to happen. today the faa got an earful. one complaint, the agency isn t