Introduction to Site Surveys and Emergency Planning for Small UAS Operations
Before every flight, it’s critical to conduct a site survey to identify potential hazards and plan accordingly. As a Remote Pilot-in-Command (Remote PIC), you must assess the environment to spot risks like power lines, buildings, and radio interference. Proper planning helps you avoid obstacles, set safe flight paths, and identify emergency landing zones.
Conducting a Site Survey
A thorough site survey is your first step before any flight. During the survey, look for hazards such as tall structures, power lines, or trees that could interfere with your flight. Pay attention to weather conditions and other environmental factors that could impact your flight’s safety.
Planning for Emergencies
Always have an emergency plan in place. Know where the emergency landing zones are, how to handle lost signal, or what to do if the weather changes unexpectedly. Planning ahead for these situations helps you stay prepared and take the right action if something goes wrong.
Conducting
Site Surveys
Before each flight, perform a thorough site survey to identify potential hazards such as power lines, tall buildings, or radio interference. This proactive step allows you to plan safe flight paths and designate emergency landing zones, so you’re prepared for any challenges that may arise during your operation.
Real-Life Examples:
- Filming a Documentary: Before capturing aerial shots of a historic castle, survey the area for potential hazards like high-voltage power lines or construction cranes used in nearby renovations. By identifying these risks in advance, you can avoid interruptions and achieve smooth, uninterrupted footage.
- Agricultural Monitoring: Inspect the field for obstacles such as hidden irrigation systems or tall machinery that could interfere with your drone’s flight path or data collection. This helps ensure you maintain a clear and accurate flight, leading to reliable crop monitoring results.
Site Survey Checks:
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Hazard Identification: Identifying local hazards like towers, power lines, trees, and structures to ensure a clear operational space.
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Emergency Landing Zones Evaluation: Identifying suitable emergency landing zones in case of unexpected malfunctions or emergencies during the flight.
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Weather Conditions Review: Evaluating current weather conditions to ensure safe operation and avoid unexpected challenges.
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Wind Obstruction Assessment: Examining wind obstructions that could lead to turbulence during the operation.
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Bystander Awareness Check: Assessing non-participatory bystanders who may be unaware of the activity, potentially becoming distracted or alarmed.
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Traffic Pattern Analysis: Observing traffic patterns to safeguard vehicles that might be impacted by the operation.
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Radio Signal Check: Checking for potential radio interference that could affect communication signals between the remote controller and the aircraft.
Planning for Site Emergencies
Developing an Emergency Game Plan:
As a Remote PIC, you need to have a game plan in place for if and when things go sideways. Whether your UA experiences a lost link or the weather turns stormy, knowing what to do can save the day.
As the Remote Pilot-in-Command, your primary responsibility is to brief everyone on the team —clients, crew, and ground crew — about emergency procedures.
Remote PICs should also have procedures in place for handling unexpected situations like equipment failure, loss of control, or changing weather conditions.
Mandatory Landing Procedures: Your emergency plan must include clear steps for landing the drone safely to minimize risks to people and property. For instance, if your drone’s remote identification system fails, FAA regulations require you to land it promptly to comply with safety standards.
Emergency Examples:
- Loss of Orientation: Difficulty in determining the drone’s direction, leading to potential navigation challenges.
- Loss of GPS Signal: Interruption or failure of the GPS signal, impacting accurate positioning and navigation.
- Compass Error: Malfunction or incorrect readings from the drone’s compass, affecting navigation accuracy.
- Loss of Direct Line-of-Sight: Inability to maintain a clear visual line-of-sight with the drone, compromising situational awareness.
- Loss of Video Feed: Disruption or failure of the video feed, hindering the pilot’s ability to monitor the drone’s surroundings.
- Fly-Away: Unintended and uncontrolled movement of the drone away from the intended flight area.
- Erratic Movement: Unpredictable and irregular drone behavior, potentially leading to loss of control.
- Structures in Line of Flight: Presence of obstacles or structures obstructing the drone’s planned flight path.
- Motor Failure: Unexpected malfunction or failure of one or more drone motors, affecting flight stability.
- Power Loss: Sudden depletion or failure of the drone’s power source, leading to potential in-flight issues.
Maintain Control of
Your Aircraft
Acting swiftly and making informed decisions are key to managing the situation effectively before it escalates.
In an emergency, maintaining control of your UA is crucial. Whether your drone drifts due to signal interference or faces strong winds, your ability to steer it back on course or land it safely can prevent accidents and ensure a safe outcome.
If your drone veers off course or encounters an issue, you need to quickly regain control and guide it to a safe landing. Keeping control helps you avoid collisions, prevent crashes, and ensure the drone doesn’t end up in a dangerous situation.
Know Your Control System:
Understanding your drone’s control systems inside and out is crucial. This includes knowing how to navigate the controller’s interface, responding to malfunctions, and practicing emergency maneuvers.
Emergency Maneuvers and Safe Landing Procedures
Steps to take after regaining control of your drone following an emergency
In drone operations, emergencies can happen unexpectedly, and how you respond can make all the difference in maintaing safety for both your aircraft and the people around you.
Step 1: Perform an Emergency Maneuver to Stabilize the Situation
Once you’ve regained control of your drone, your first priority is to stabilize it. Depending on the nature of the emergency, you may need to perform an emergency maneuver to regain control or avoid immediate hazards.
Step 2: Perform a Controlled Landing
Once you have a clear landing area, perform a controlled landing. Use your remote controller to slowly and steadily lower the drone to the ground, maintaining control at all times.
For example, if you’re landing and a person or animal gets too close, it’s a good idea to quickly gain some altitude, look for an alternative landing spot, or, if you have crew with you, secure the original landing zone and check if it’s still safe.
Avoid Collisions with other Drones & Manned Aircraft
Yield to Right of Way of Manned Aircraft
Manned aircraft always have the right of way. Always be vigilant and anticipate the movement of other aircraft or objects. Maintain a safe distance and adjust your flight path to avoid potential collisions. As a Remote PIC, it’s your responsibility to remain clear of and to yield right-of-way to all manned aircraft.
Avoiding Wing Tip Vortices
Wingtip vortices are swirling air trails that drop down from large aircraft, causing turbulence. This effect is most intense during takeoff when the plane is fully loaded at its heaviest, moving slowly, and using its full power. If your drone flies close to a big plane during this time, it could get tossed around by the descending air patterns from those vortices, making the flight a lot bumpier.
Maintain a safe distance from large aircraft, especially during takeoff and landing. This helps you steer clear of the turbulent air trails they create.
Examples
Yielding to a Manned Aircraft: You’re flying your drone over a park when you notice a small plane approaching. Since manned aircraft always have the right-of-way, you should move your drone to the side and let the plane pass by safely.
Yielding to another Drone: While flying your drone to inspect a construction site, you spot another drone nearby, flying in the opposite direction. To avoid a collision, you should adjust your flight path and move your drone to a different area, allowing the other drone to pass without interference.
Reporting Deviations of Regulations to the FAA
If you fly above 400 ft AGL:
According to regulations you only need to report deviations from the rules, like exceeding the 400 feet AGL limit, if specifically requested by the FAA.
You don’t need to make an immediate report unless an official requests it. However, it’s wise to be prepared to provide this information if asked.
Document the Incident
Record detailed information about the situation. Using the above example, note that you ascended to 500 feet AGL, why you had to exceed the 400 feet limit (e.g., to avoid a collision with a nearby manned aircraft), and any relevant details like the time, location, and communications with air traffic control or other relevant parties. This documentation will be helpful if you are later requested to explain the deviation.
