GM1 AMC1 Article 11 Rules for conducting an operational risk assessment

GENERAL

The operational risk assessment required by Article 11 of the UAS Regulation may be conducted using the methodology described in AMC1 Article 11. This methodology is basically the specific operations risk assessment (SORA) developed by JARUS. Other methodologies might be used by the UAS operator as alternative means of compliance.

Unmanned free balloons are unmanned aircraft and shall thus comply with Regulation (EU) 2019/947. For this type of aircraft, compliance with Appendix 2 to Regulation (EU) No 923/2012 is considered an acceptable means of compliance with Article 11.

Aspects other than safety, such as security, privacy, environmental protection, the use of the radio frequency (RF) spectrum, etc., should be assessed in accordance with the applicable requirements established by the Member State in which the operation is intended to take place, or by other EU regulations.

For some UAS operations that are classified as being in the ‘specific’ category, alternatives to carrying out a full risk assessment are offered to UAS operators:

(a)     for UAS operations with lower intrinsic risks, a declaration may be submitted when the operations comply with the standard scenarios (STSs) listed in Appendix 1 to the UAS Regulation. Table 1 provides a summary of the STSs; and

(b)     for other UAS operations, a request for authorisation may be submitted based on the mitigations and provisions described in the predefined risk assessment (PDRA) when the UAS operation meets the operational characterisation described in AMC2 et seq. Article 11 to the UAS Regulation. Table 2 below provides a summary of the PDRAs that have been published so far.

While the STSs are described in a detailed way, the provisions and mitigations in the PDRAs are described in a rather generic way to provide flexibility to UAS operators and the competent authorities to establish more prescriptive limitations and provisions that are adapted to the particularities of the intended operations. Two types of PDRAs are provided:

—    those derived from an STS, which allow the UAS operator to conduct similar operations, but using, for example, UAS without the class label that is mandated by the STS (e.g. privately built UAS); and

—         more generic PDRAs.

The codification of a PDRA includes the letter ‘G’ or ‘S’ (e.g. PDRA-G01 or PDRA-S01):

—         ‘G’ is used for generic PDRAs.

—         ‘S’ is used for PDRAs that are derived from an STS whose level of prescriptiveness is the same as of the corresponding STS. Therefore, those PDRAs, although they address UAS operations that are subject to operational authorisations (to allow the use of UAS without a class label), are expected to provide an even more simplified authorisation process compared to other (non-STS-related) PDRAs. Ideally, for UAS operations that are performed based on those PDRAs, the competent authorities may implement expedited operational-authorisation processes. Those processes may be based on the review of the documentation that is submitted by the UAS operator to support the declaration of compliance with the PDRA provisions.

In accordance with Article 11 of the UAS Regulation, the applicant must collect and provide the relevant technical, operational and system information needed to assess the risk associated with the intended operation of the UAS, and the SORA (AMC1 Article 11 of the UAS Regulation) provides a detailed framework for such data collection and presentation. The concept of operations (ConOps) description is the foundation for all other activities, and should be as accurate and detailed as possible. The ConOps should not only describe the operation, but also provide insight into the UAS operator’s operational safety culture. It should also include how and when to interact with the air navigation service provider (ANSP) when applicable.

PDRAs only address safety risks; consequently, additional limitations and provisions might need to be included after the consideration of other risks (e.g. security, privacy, etc.).

Table 1 — List of STSs published as ‘Appendix 1 for standard scenarios supporting a declaration’ to the Annex to the UAS Regulation

When UAS operators intend to conduct an operation covered by a PDRA, they should fill in the last two columns of the table related to the selected PDRA, named ‘integrity’ and ‘proof’. In the column ‘integrity’ they should explain how the level of integrity is met, and in the column ‘proof’ how the level of integrity is demonstrated. To support UAS operators, the two columns are already prefilled; however, the UAS operator may adapt the text to their needs.

If the UAS operation does not fit completely within the limits of the PDRA, the UAS operator is required to conduct a full risk assessment and submit it to the competent authority. Changes to the PDRA should not be done, unless the competent authority accepts that minor changes should be made.

Table 2 — List of PDRAs published as AMC to Article 11 of the UAS Regulation

For the purposes of the SORA, the following definitions should apply:

—    ‘populated area’ should be understood as ‘congested area’, as defined in Regulation (EU) No 965/2012 (the ‘Air Operations Regulation’): ‘in relation to a city, town or settlement, any area which is substantially used for residential, commercial or recreational purposes’; and

—    ‘rural area’ is used in the context of the air risk and it means the volume outside a populated area and not within the aerodrome traffic zone (ATZ) of an aerodrome.