Type Conformity Assessment and Continuing Airworthiness of Unmanned Aircraft Systems and Impacts on Aviation Safety

Abstract

The operational requirements for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) are differentiated by the European Union (EU) according to the technical content of the UAS and how it is applied. According to the technical content and application of the UAS, there are three categories of open, special and certified operations. If the UAS operation exceeds the limits set for the open category operation, e.g. the maximum take-off mass (MTOM) of the UAS exceeds 25 kg, the flight altitude of the operation is above 120 m, or it is performed beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS), then we are talking about special or certified category UAS operations. Or if, on the basis of a SORA-based risk assessment of the safe feasibility of an operation, the operation cannot be safely carried out and/or the competent aviation authority considers that only after an aircraft certification process can operational risks be reasonably mitigated, then we are considered to be certified category of UAS operations. In this article, I would like to present these latter two types of applications, the possibilities of their safe implementation and the future significance of continuing airworthiness management organisations (CAMOs).