Flying over people question

[R.Perry]

Thanks for the reply. With respect, I began flying in 1969 and the operations base of each aircraft (owners) held all maintenance logbooks, pilots were never allowed to take those with them; my pilot log book was always in my flight bag. Haven't flown in a while; maybe things have changed.

Unless 107 changes, IMHO the safest place for my UAS pilot logbook is at my home/office.Thanks for the heads up; I do a lot of construction work and may get a visit some time.

You are correct that on manned aircraft you do not carry the maintenance logs, however with the drone my maintenance logs, including battery surveys, and log book are all in one book that I always carry with me. It also has insurance information. Was it mandatory, no, but makes for a good impression, and shows responsibility in our general operation.

One of the main reasons for not carrying a maintenance log on the aircraft is if an accident should happen the log could be destroyed and there would be no history for the NTSB to look at. If I crash the drone, log book and records are still intact.

 

[rvrrat14]

Ambiguous is the truth! From a recent conversation with Administration folks, flying over people is meant to be ‘groups’ or gatherings, not just a simple few people meandering around. Also, restudy ‘part of the operation’. When in doubt, DON’T DO IT.

 

[ClipCopter]

@R.Perry Thanks for sharing this. Appreciate the opportunity to learn.

 

[R.Perry]

Ambiguous is the truth! From a recent conversation with Administration folks, flying over people is meant to be ‘groups’ or gatherings, not just a simple few people meandering around. Also, restudy ‘part of the operation’. When in doubt, DON’T DO IT.

We can have all the conversations with as many FAA, NTSB folks as we want, and no telling what they may or may not tell you. But when the sh.... hits the fan the only thing that matters is the regulations and part 39 is very clear on overflights of people.

It is my opinion that if they deem you were attempting to operate in a safe manner they would be a little easier on you, if you were be reckless good by license.

 

[rvrrat14]

My conversation was seeking a waiver as a first responder and that is what was told me. Take it for what it’s worth.

 

[magar]

I try to avoid people anyway whenever I make stills or video.
p.s. Btw, Mavic 2 Pro has a good obstacle avoidance

 

[rvrrat14]

I agree, but I fly for a FD too.

 

[R Martin]

I agree, but I fly for a FD too.

It is a common pitfall that I have seen play out a lot more than I care to count. People take a verbose reg and bend it to suit themselves. Rationalize it however makes you comfortable and lets you sleep at night but when you fly over someone and something goes wrong, it might be a black eye and additional fodder for the anti-drone movement that is used against us as a whole but it's you head on the chopping block.

If you ere on the side of caution and follow the regs in spirit, then you've done your job as a pilot to ensure that your flight ops are safe and everyone benefits. Part of the flight op came up in the ongoing FAA webinar series this summer and was really clear about what it meant. If a person is not actively part of the flight crew or directly supporting said flight then they are not "part of the operation". So if you don't have the meat of your conversation with FAA reps in writing stating specifically what they told you, I would ere on the side of caution and follow the regs as written.

We do a lot of things in this life we don't like. We do even more things we don't really agree with. This is just another one of those things if you truly consider yourself a pilot. You agreed to follow the regs for the privilege of flying commercially. Instead of trying to find a way to rationalize and justify breaking the regs, why not try to find a solution that allows you to operate legally under the regs and still get the job done?

<I'm getting off my soap box now...>

 

[rvrrat14]

All good words. I don’t try and fly over anyone not in the op.

 

[BigAl07]

For those that "Try to not fly over people", as a Public Safety entity (FD,PD, SD, ES etc) the LAST thing you want to do is fly over people.... period. The amount of attention and intense scrutiny your dept is already under is mind boggling and if you have an incident or get reported for flying over people you could lose any opportunity for further sUAS use for your department and hamper any future requests via the FAA (future COAs etc). Once you're on the FAA's radar you're under a magnifying glass for a long time and it's even worse when you're flying for Public Safety.

The regs are VERY specific about flying over people. They say (in clear terms) that the only people you can fly over are those directly responsible for the safe operation of the aircraft... aka Flight Crew.This excludes flying over anyone not in the flight crew meaning John Q. Public, Media, and even your own fellow responders. The only way around this very specific regulation (regulations leave little grey area or none that we want to play in) is to get a WAIVER of have the allowance built into a Public Use COA.

 

[BigAl07]

It is a common pitfall that I have seen play out a lot more than I care to count. People take a verbose reg and bend it to suit themselves. Rationalize it however makes you comfortable and lets you sleep at night but when you fly over someone and something goes wrong, it might be a black eye and additional fodder for the anti-drone movement that is used against us as a whole but it's you head on the chopping block.

If you ere on the side of caution and follow the regs in spirit, then you've done your job as a pilot to ensure that your flight ops are safe and everyone benefits. Part of the flight op came up in the ongoing FAA webinar series this summer and was really clear about what it meant. If a person is not actively part of the flight crew or directly supporting said flight then they are not "part of the operation". So if you don't have the meat of your conversation with FAA reps in writing stating specifically what they told you, I would ere on the side of caution and follow the regs as written.

We do a lot of things in this life we don't like. We do even more things we don't really agree with. This is just another one of those things if you truly consider yourself a pilot. You agreed to follow the regs for the privilege of flying commercially. Instead of trying to find a way to rationalize and justify breaking the regs, why not try to find a solution that allows you to operate legally under the regs and still get the job done?

<I'm getting off my soap box now...>

VERY well said and 100% accurate.

If you don't have it in wring and signed it doesn't hold up in court. It's your tailfeathers on the line so get it in writing every time.

 

[rvrrat14]

Kinda interesting now that it comes back to Request A Waiver. That’s where my conversation with the admin began this/my part of this thread. The meaning of people per reg. I document every name and date of admin folks I deal with. Nuff said on my part.