Our monthly newsletter contains recent regulatory information to keep you updated on the latest releases during October. Read on to find out how the drone industry will be impacted from the perspective of users, business owners and regulators.
The critical area is part of determining the intrinsic ground risk class (iGRC), which is defined as: “the total ground area where an individual could potentially be affected by the Unmanned Aircraft (UA) during or after a loss of control event, representing the zome where a fatality could occur if a person were present within it.” The current method, “the JARUS Model,” calculates the critical area based on fixed-wing UAs' descent and crash model. This method creates a larger critical area, making it a more conservative estimate compared to other crash scenarios. EASA’s proposed guidelines introduce “the high impact model”, designed to calculate a crash’s critical area between a UA’s trajectory and the horizon during a ballistic descent using high impact angles above 60 °.
This decision aims to amend the acceptable means of compliance (AMC) and guidance material (GM) for Regulations (EU) 2019/945 and 2019/947, which refers to drones in the ‘open’ and ‘specific’ categories.
The amendments involve: - Clarifying the assessment method for the design of uncrewed aircraft systems (UASs) in the ‘specific’ category.
- Extending the applicability of PDRA S-01 to agricultural operations.
- Addressing the authorisation process for free flight balloons.
The main objective of these changes is to maintain a high level of safety for uncrewed aircraft systems (UASs) operating in the ‘open’ and ‘specific’ categories. The regulatory material is expected to enhance harmonisation in implementing the Regulation and promote a level playing field among stakeholders.
The affected stakeholders include UAS operators (private and commercial), National Competent Authorities (NCAs), UAS Maintenance Organisations (UAS CAMOs), maintenance license holders, UAS manufacturers, other airspace users (crewed aircraft), and the general public.
Key highlights of the amendments include:
- Changes in the design verification process for UAS, particularly in the ‘specific’ category.
- Enhancements in the regulatory approach to uncrewed free balloon operations.
- Updates to various annexes and predefined risk assessments.
- Revision of operational safety objectives (OSOs) to align with the European regulatory framework.
The documents have been published for public consultation. Any feedback or comments will be received by the JARUS Secretariat at contact@jarus-rpas.org until 14 November 2023.
Predefined Risk Assessment, PDRA-06, for UA testing This PDRA is tailored to enable test flights for UAS with up to 8-metre characteristic dimension, emphasising VLOS, controlled ground areas in sparsely populated environments, low-risk airspace, and basic containment measures. It provides a framework to grant flexibility for various operations while maintaining a low-risk environment.
Pre Defined Risk Assessment, PDRA-08, for swarm operations
This PDRA addresses the risks and challenges posed by swarm operations involving multiple Unmanned Aircraft (UA) in various scenarios, ensuring safety and compliance with regulations. Such scenarios include operations where automation plays a significant role, e.g. light shows. These swarm operations deviate from the standard SORA (Specific Operations Risk Assessment) due to multiple UAs in action, making Ground Risk Classification (GRC) determination less straightforward. Consequently, some conditions are adapted to require different levels of robustness from what SORA would lead to with a single UA.
Predefined Risk Assessment, PDRA-10, for Aerial Work operations
This PDRA addresses UAS flights maintaining the VLOS flight condition, with a maximum characteristic dimension of up to 3 metres, a maximum height of 220 metres above ground level (AGL) (200 metres for flight geography and 20 metres for contingency), and the necessity of a mandatory observer. It considers ground risk factors in sparsely populated areas with a minimum ground risk buffer, a maximum ground speed of 15 m/s, and M1 mitigation to reduce the number of people at risk. The PDRA includes the air risk factors, operations in uncontrolled airspace, potential initial ARC-c, and the use of strategic mitigation to reduce air risk by one class. The PDRA is based on SORA version 2.0, and any further changes to this version of SORA may lead to changes in the provision of this PDRA.
The European Parliament resolution addresses the use of electric aviation for short and mid-range flights. The resolution recognises the challenge of decarbonisation within the aviation sector and sees electric aviation as a potential solution. The document highlights the various factors and difficulties associated with this transition into electric aviation.
The resolution outlines the potential benefits of electric aviation, such as increased regional connectivity, economic development and reduced emissions. It also mentions the importance of battery technology, cross-industry collaborations and the need for significant investments in infrastructure to support electric aircraft.
The resolution calls for a coordinated European strategy to support the development, certification and deployment for the future of aircraft. The report shows electric aviation as a key component of the European Union’s digital transition to achieve positive environmental and economic impacts.
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See you in the skies and beyond,
Team Murzilli
The activities developed by M&K UAS & SPACE SPAIN SL according to the requirements expressed in the International ISO 9001: 2015 standard are:
Consultancy and training services on Uncrewed Aerial Systems (Drones) and Flight Procedure Design (FPD).
The main points of action issued by the management in the quality policy statement issued by the management are:
Our quality commitment to all the interested parties (customer, suppliers, stakeholders, employees, competence and public administration) leads us to provide reliable and effective products and services. These product and services are provided worldwide in compliance with the regulatory requirements and in full alignment with our company values.
The Quality culture and mindset is promoted through proper training to each member of M&K UAS & SAPCE SPAIN SL so that everybody has full awareness of the quality importance.
Management makes this policy accessible and available to its customers, its employees, suppliers and the general public
The Policy is kept up-to-date through periodic reviews, coinciding with the management review of the system, in order to take into account changes in environmental conditions and the information received. In this sense, the management provides and will provide all the human, technical and economic resources needed to achieve the objectives and targets established scheduled and periodically.
07/01/2025. Ed. 1.
Chief Executive Office
