Moving Vehicles/Pedestrians vs drones!
Jim Crume P.L.S., M.S., CFedS, RP
Survey Project Manager at Cooper Aerial Surveys Co.
If you are a Part 107 remote pilot, then you are fully aware of the rule "no flying drones over moving vehicles or people". I get the reason for the rule. It is all about safety.
In the real world, it is almost impossible to avoid flying over people or moving vehicles 100% of the time. The only way I know how to do this is to not fly a drone at all.
If you are a remote pilot working on a project, mapping or capturing images/videos, you will for the most part be able to comply with the rule on controlled project sites. There are those rare occasions that everything is going great and then an unexpected vehicle or pedestrian just shows up on your project site. If your in an autonomous flight mapping a site, the camera is pointing down, you won't be able to see a vehicle or pedestrian through the camera until you are directly over them and then it is too late to abort the mission to wait until the vehicle or pedestrian leaves the area. You should be in direct line of site with the drone as it is capturing images during an autonomous flight (another rule for remote pilots) and a vehicle or pedestrian comes onto your project site from behind a tree or other obstacle, and wham you just flew over them.
This has happened to me and I know it has happened to other remote pilots if they are willing to admit it.
Speaking of line of site. Your suppose to be watching your drone as it flies around. You have to take your eyes off of the drone to look at the smart device connected to your flight controller to check the vital flight settings and camera view to verify that your video or images are being captured correctly. Didn't you just violate the line of sight rule by taking your eyes off of the drone?
How can you tell if your drone flies over someone or a moving vehicle if you are watching your drone that might be 500' or 1000' feet away at 400 AGL flying at 20+ mph? It is impossible to tell exactly where a person or moving vehicle is in relationship to the position of your drone from the ground unless it is directly over you.
I'm just saying!!!
I have mapped many projects that have large parking lots. I wait until it is all clear, start the flight and a vehicle or pedestrian enters the parking lot at some point during the flight. What do you do? Abort the flight?
The parking lots are usually private property and I have permission from the owner to map the site. The vehicle or pedestrian are moving slowly and totally unaware that this tiny little drone is flying overhead taking pictures. Most never look up even though you can hear it. When I go back and look at the pictures, I am pleasantly surprised that the vehicle or pedestrian was never directly in the flight line. I am in compliance, yeah...
I plan all of my flight lines to avoid lanes of travel and pedestrian paths across the site to manage the risks of unexpectedly flying over moving vehicles and/or people coming into and out of the project site.
I have flown hundreds of missions with very few infractions. Is it luck or just good planning?
Lets get real about this. There are going to be infractions. It is impossible to avoid them 100% of the time in the real world. It is about risk management and safety.
By the way, Youtube is full of videos showing drones flying over moving vehicles and people. To date, I know of only one person being reprimanded by the FAA.
If there is ever an incident and my drone hits a moving vehicle or pedestrian, then the rule will come into play and I will get thoroughly investigated. I just hope that I am not the first one that this happens to. I don't want to be on the national news that drones are unsafe and should be banned.
Liability insurance is a must.
I do believe that the FAA will modify the rule about flying over moving vehicles and people for certain drones that have proven to be very reliable if they are flown and maintained properly and liability insurance is in place.
I hope to see it during my flying career.
Busy intersections are a real challenge to capture images and videos and stay clear of moving vehicles or people. I have developed a procedure that I move with the traffic just off to the side of the road and cross the intersections with the green light in sync with the traffic. I have on occasion stopped the drone and hovered until there is a green light then I continue to cross. Pretend like you are a pedestrian in a cross walk. When the walk light is on, the cross traffic is stopped and it is clear to fly across. This method has worked out real well for most intersections. If the intersection is super busy, I will have a spotter watch the traffic signals for me.
This method is pretty slick.
Comment and share your experiences on how you deal with complying with the Part 107 rules in the real world.
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5 年This was a great article I really like your thoughts on this topic. I think we will see changes to this rule. The FAA seems to be on the side of drones for the most part and as companies like Amazon roll out drone delivery the rules will definitely change.
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6 年Jim, well written and thoughtful article. It is definitely an area of confusion and has been left intentionally vague by the FAA program managers and lawyers. It comes down to what is considered overhead. This interpretation is left upto the judgement of the PIC. When i teach on this subject i talk about aviation risk management. If you are flying a 2lb foam flying wing and camera or a phantom there is less risk of harm and (personally) would operate in "sparsely" populated areas... i would fly closer to people. This was some of the justification for the CNN flight over people waiver.. Conversely if i am flying a 25lb gas power helicopter or multi sensor drone, then those offsets, dramatically increase. You are right, you won't receive a fine until you have a mishap then your license will come into question. Sitting on many military helicopter aircraft commander rating boards, an intensive interview to determine if we are going to give a kid the keys to $20M aircraft, the thing we always looked for was an understanding of letter of the law vs spirit of the law... accidents and mishaps are dramatically lower when you understand the spirit of the law and use good head work. Great topic...
Aerial Construction Photo & Video | FAA Part 107 Pilot
6 年Very well articulated, I operate under the same practical principles. While some Part 107 pilots get hung up on the "letter of the law," it seems that few pay attention to what matters most -?risk management and safety.
Director at SPS+ Architects
6 年Is that val vista and chandler heights intersection?
Back to my prior life of being in the signage business
6 年Jim, you know that I totally respect your approach to this position. You and I have always shared following these "rules of the road" and still stand by them. I have lost potential work due to my being steadfast of following the rules. Seems that a couple of folks here in the valley don't share our same convictions. I recommend to all that are interested in "knowing" your sub-contractor/drone pilot, please check them out for their correct process of filing for either/or both airspace authorization or part 107 waiver. There is a location on the FAA website that will let you search to verify compliance. Use this tool! Don't get yourself in hot water, just by believing what is told to you. Due Diligence! Sorry to highjack your post, Jim https://www.faa.gov/uas/request_waiver/waivers_granted/