????無人機可以讓我們看到無法親身觀察的事物，也可以把貨物遞送到遙遠或危險的地方。它們還可以用來救火。這固然很棒，不過問題在于它們也會妨礙其他飛機，導致人員傷亡和財產損失。

????兩種極端狀況在上周都發生了。上周五，第一架獲得聯邦航空局遞送醫療用品許可的無人機順利抵達了一個偏遠的弗吉尼亞州診所。

????而據美國有線電視新聞網和其他媒體的報道，不到24小時之后，無人機又妨礙消防隊員撲救加利福尼亞州南部15號州際公路上的大火，造成了30輛汽車焚毀，一些司機棄車求生?，F場的5架無人機導致消防飛機降落推遲了25分鐘，耽誤了緊急救援工作。

????據Slate.com報道，這是加州圣貝納迪諾的消防隊員第三次受到無人機活動的妨礙。

????類似這樣的糟糕局面，是聯邦航空局在許可無人機廣泛使用上進展緩慢的原因之一，這也讓希望使用無人機送貨的亞馬遜、谷歌和其他公司感到煩惱。

????到目前為止，商用無人機只可以在白天使用，飛行高度不得超過500英尺，且必須處在運營商的視野范圍之內。

????不過顯然，從火災和其他一些意外狀況來看，消費者們往往會不顧后果地讓自己的無人機起飛。（財富中文網）

????譯者：嚴匡正

????審校：任文科

????Drones can let us see things we otherwise could not view and deliver goods to remote or dangerous areas. They can fight fires. That’s all well and good. The downside is that they can get in the way of other aircraft and cause injury to people or damage property.

????The world saw both extremes last week. On Friday, the first FAA-approved drone delivery of medical supplies to a remote Virginia clinic took place without a hitch.

????But within 24 hours, drones aka unmanned aerial vehicles, were blamed for impeding fire fighters’ efforts to fight a wildfire that jumped Interstate 15 in southern California, burning some 30 vehicles and sending some drivers running for their lives, according to CNN and others. The presence of five drones caused the grounding of fire-fighting aircraft for about 25 minutes, delaying emergency responders.

????This was the third time that firefighters in San Bernardino county, California, were obstructed by drone activity, according to Slate.

????Snafus like these are one reason the FAA has been going slow in approving widespread drone use, much to the chagrin of Amazon AMZN 1.58% ,Google GOOG 16.05% and other companies hoping to use them for delivery.

????Thus far, commercial drones are limited to daytime flight of altitudes to 500 feet. And, they must be in the line of sight of their operators.

????But clearly, given the fire incident, and others, consumers want to fly their drones, for better or worse.