As the use of RPA across industries continues to grow and change how operators are approaching a variety of work types, the need to safely operate over uninvolved people has become apparent both to industry and to regulators. In this blog we’re diving into the regulatory landscape around operations over or near people (OONP), and how the recently released TMI has opened up these operations for ReOC holders.
Regulations about Operations Over or Near People
Flying an RPA over people, or within a certain distance from people is regulated under the Part 101.245 and 101.280 of the CASR (Civil Aviation Safety Regulations) in Australia.
For the purpose of this blog, we first need to define how people are categorised in an RPA operation:
- Uninvolved person. Refers to people who are not involved in the operation of the RPA (e.g. Not a pilot, observer, ground-crew), and may or may not be made aware of the RPA operations.
- Active participants. Refers to people who are not involved in the operation of the RPA (e.g. Not a pilot, observer, ground-crew), and have been made aware of the RPA in some way (e.g. Provided written consent to operations, made aware through conditions of entry to an event, advised through signage).
CASR 101.245 mandates a 30m minimum distance to operate from uninvolved people. This 30m extends from every direction of the RPA down to the ground (which can be thought of as a cylinder around the RPA). This could be reduced to 15m under CASR 101.245 provided the operator obtained express written consent.
CASR 101.280 mandates that a non-certified RPA cannot be operated over a populous area which is defined as any area that has sufficient density of population for some aspect of the operation, or some event that might happen during the operation (in particular, a fault in, or failure of, the aircraft) to pose an unreasonable risk to life, safety or property of somebody is in the area but is not connected with the operation. Populous areas may include CBDs, sports fields in-use for an event and popular destinations like beaches.
CASA can grant approvals to ReOC holders to conduct operations outside of CASR 101.280 and 101.245 provided certain conditions are met. This was introduced in the Temporary Management Instruction (TMI).
EX 45/24 is a general exemption that allows all ReOC holders to conduct operations over a populous area where consent as not been obtained if they hold a relevant OONP approval.
The Temporary Management Instruction (TMI) for OONP
CASA recently released a TMI that described the three pathways under which they may consider an OONP approval based on the scope and intent of the operation and provides details on:
- minimum conditions for each pathway
- required mitigations operators must demonstrate through procedures
- required disclosures operators must make to active participants in order to gain consent for operations; and
- authorised methods to gain that consent.
The TMI also introduced new definitions to use when constructing procedures and limitations around OONP including:
- Controlled Environment. This is a designated operational area which solely involves active participants where the RPA operator can control is aware of any persons entering or exiting the area.
- Approved PRS. This refers to a Parachute Recovery System that has been designed to an appropriate ASTM standard and has been accepted by the AEB.
- Express Written consent. Express Written consent is consent that is recorded in writing or digitally, where the person given consent has full briefed on the risks and safety mitigations in place during the operation, including the likelihood and severity of any potential injury.
- Informed consent. Informed consent is consent that is obtained through briefing the person on the use RPA, risks and safety mitigations through either an in-person brief (e.g. at a safety meeting, induction or over loud-speakers) or by other forms of notice (e.g. signage, terms and conditions of entry, terms and conditions of ticketing).
Pathways to approval
Pathway 1:
- Approvals under Pathway 1 allow RPA to be operated within 15m or over active participants provided that:
- the operation is conducted in a controlled environment
- the RPA’s gross weight does not exceed 25kg
- active participants fully understand the risks associated with the operation
- active participants are at least 18 years old
- active participants provide express written consent
Pathway 2:
- Approvals under Pathway 2 allow RPA up to 25kg be operated within 30m or over non-involved persons provided that the residual impact energy transferred to a person is either:
- less than 15J (no consent)
- between 15-34J (informed consent)
- Impact energy thresholds can be achieved by:
- using lighter weight RPA
- reducing the RPAs horizontal speed
- reducing the RPAs vertical speed (eg. with a parachute recovery system)
- the sheltering of non-involved persons
NOTE: Other conditions and limitations may be imposed under this Pathway approval including the inability to operate within 5m of a person if the RPA is not fitted with an ASTM F3322 standard PRS and the requirement to utilise propellor guards if the system is not fitted with an active obstacle avoidance system that prevents the RPA from operating within 5m of a person
Pathway 3:
- Approvals under Pathway 3 enables OONP that fall outside the scope of pathways 1 or 2
- Pathway 3 requires the submission of a safety case conducted utilising the JARUS Specific Operations Risk Assessment (SORA) methodology (Note: further information on the SORA methodology can be found under the BVLOS approvals section of the CASA website)
- the RPAs gross weight cannot exceed 25kg;
- all active participants must fully understand the risks of the operation; and
- all active participants must provide written consent.
Additional Considerations
In edge cases, CASA has also provided another method to obtain approval when none of the 3 pathways are suitable. Operators may obtain approval through the Executive Manager (National Operations and Standards) and the Executive Manger (Regulatory Oversight Division).
An OONP Approval does not grant an operator the ability to conduct OONP where a local law still prohibits it. This may be the case in certain areas managed by a local council or other government entity (e.g. a statement on a website that all operations must be IAW CASA’s rules but never over an uninvolved person). Local laws and links to more information are consolidated on the drones.gov.au website.
Like all RPA operators, you will need to hold a noise approval before conducting commercial operations. You should also consider the impact of RPA noise caused by your operations in planning. To apply for a noise approval visit drones.gov.au.
Many people outside of the RPA industry also regularly raise privacy as a key concern and operators should be considering the privacy implications of conducting flights and capturing data so close to people.
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