Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) has updated an exemption for approved operators flying drones over areas where lots of people are present.
Under the new measure, operators and pilots who already hold an approval to fly close to people or in another person’s safety zone may not need a separate approval for some populous area flights.
The exemption only applies to very small, small and medium remotely piloted aircraft.
Specifically, those with a current approval to fly within 30 metres of people who are not directly involved in the flight (under regulation 101.029 of CASR) or to fly in, or over, another person’s safety zone (under CASA 20/25), do not need separate approvals for flights over more populated areas.
CASA points out that all other Part 101 rules still apply and that pilots must follow their operations manuals and all approved conditions.
The aviation safety authority has also announced a new trial to support remote pilot licence training organisations that use medium remotely piloted aircraft. Currently, each chief remote pilot instructor must do a flight test for every medium remotely piloted aircraft model. The trial enables instructors to be assessed with a generic rating, rather than needing a flight test for every model in a category.
For more information
Image: CASA
