Australia’s CASA is launching a review of decade old rules governing civilian use of unmanned aircraft systems.
The current rules were drafted at a time when there was little such use and contain few details on important subjects such as pilot qualifications, airworthiness and risk management. The lack of clear guidelines makes new applications onerous and increases the chance for mistakes, the regulator says.
“At present each application for an unmanned aircraft systems operations is a standalone exercise and requires significant education of applicants,” CASA boss John McCormick wrote in the regulator’s monthly newsletter.
“With a rapid increase in activity in this sector there is a risk that unsafe decisions could be made without comprehensive guidance material being available.”
CASA will produce a series of six circulators advising industry and its own officials on managing safety of unmanned systems. Once the advisory material has been completed, CASA will launch a full review of current regulations that will also assess the long-term integration of UAS into normal aviation operations across all classes of airspace.
Source: Australian Aviation