“Unmanned aircraft have countless potential uses — from package delivery to tasks that are dangerous for people or manned aircraft to perform. No one wants to see this promising technology overshadowed by an incident or accident that could easily be avoided with proper training and awareness of the safety principles that are now second nature in manned aviation,” Huerta said.

Amazon, Google, Walmart and Best Buy are among the companies exploring the use of drones for package deliveries, and they all have seats on the 25-member task force.

Huerta urged the group to consider ways to make registration easy for consumers who buy drones, as well as determining what type of data should be collected. He noted that the task force is facing a very tight timetable — the holidays are just weeks away, and recreational drones could be a popular gift.