Executive Summary Industry and regulators are achieving many notable successes in creating effective policies to facilitate the integration of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (Uncrewed Aircraft Systems, or UAS) into the National Airspace System (NAS). This report addresses two of the most urgent gaps that have yet to be resolved. Theseare establishing a safety culture among all users and using this as a stepping stone to Safety Management Systems (SMS) among commercial users. Both safety culture and SMS enjoy a rich heritage in many sectors including transportation, healthcare, and power generation where they are routinely used to promote systemic industry safety and safe day-to-day operations. But this research found that they are not yet established in the nascent UAS industry except for large UAS manufacturers and certificate holders. Further, current Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) UAS pilot testing and licensure are not tied to a larger safety culture framework and pilot safety responsibilities are not tied to the complexity of an aircraft or flight operation. Compounding matters, most UAS manufacturers supply little information to recreational and commercial users on basic legal requirements they must meet. There are two important reasons to set in motion now the establishment of safety culture and SMS policies for UAS users. First, because the UAS industry is relatively young, regulators will not be fighting established culture and traditions that often fuel resistance to these safety frameworks. Second, should the introduction of safety culture and SMS be delayed, the American public will view any future catastrophic accident involving UAS through the same lens used for traditional aviation. This risks Congress and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) creating reflexive and possibly irreversible expectations and rules around safety. It is incumbent upon the industry and regulators to proactively establish smart and effective UAS safety culture and SMS policies now that can work for both recreational and commercial UAS users. This report lays out how Congress and DOT can harness the resources already in place to establish safety culture and SMS. Much has been achieved and little needs to be done from scratch. Such proactive measures will create a sustainable and rich safety culture and safety tradition for the UAS industry. However, the research demonstrates the importance of recognizing and separating lowrisk and high-risk UAS activities while building safety culture and SMS frameworks. This involves few changes to the existing regime for hobbyist and recreational UAS pilots flying within the confines of a FAA-Recognized Identification Area (FRIA). Such activities have been conducted safely for decades and keeping barriers to entry
Guiding the New UAS Industry to Safety Excellence
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