Drones

Drone operator NASA UAS Security Reporting System

Attention, drone operators: The NASA UAS Safety Reporting System is open: and you can guarantee voluntary information that will be kept confidential and will not get you into trouble with the FAA.

It’s voluntary – but you should do it

The NASA UAS Safety Reporting System is part of NASA’s Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS). “The ASRS is a voluntary, confidential, unpunished safety reporting system that receives safety reports from pilots, air traffic controllers, dispatchers, cabin crew, maintenance technicians and now UAS operators,” says NASA. “ASRS has been part of the flight safety culture for over 45 years and to date has collected and analyzed over 1.7 million safety reports. These reports describe unsafe occurrences, dangerous situations and experiences in order to prevent others from making the same mistake. “

This is not the place to report criminal activity or a major accident, but it is the place to report problems such as a “near miss” with another aircraft or problems resulting from equipment failure, loss of communication, environmental hazards, human issues Failure and. result in more. NASA uses the information to develop best practices for procedures and checklists for safe drone operations and to communicate lessons learned – so other pilots don’t have to make the same mistake. In addition, information could be used to “identify device, software, and automation problems that can contribute to UAS incidents and resolve those issues to improve security,” NASA points out.

Reports are confidential

The NASA UAS Safety Reporting System is only as useful as drone pilots make it. To encourage honest reporting, the system is confidential, which NASA emphasizes:

All reports are kept strictly confidential and anonymized by ASRS security analysts. The resulting anonymous flight safety data is shared with the aviation and UAS communities.

The ID strip with your name, address and telephone number will be removed and mailed to you as proof of submission. Your report will be anonymized and personal references will be removed and dates / times / places will be generalized. NASA will not reveal your identity.

In addition, the FAA offers “protection against civil penalties and the suspension of certificates in exchange for your valuable security information (see FAA Advisory Circular AC 00-46F),” according to NASA.

Drones have an excellent safety record. As the industry moves towards aircraft certification and more advanced operations, data on potential risks and issues is critical – both for drone pilots and lawmakers. The drone industry is developing into a highly professional aviation sector: participating in the ASRS for UAS will help all pilots, manned and unmanned, to become better actors in the NAS.

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