Canadian Aviation Regulations (SOR/96-433)

Advertised Events

• 901.41 (1) No pilot shall operate a remotely piloted aircraft system at any advertised event except in accordance with a special flight operations certificate — RPAS issued under section 903.03.

• (2) Subsection (1) does not apply to the operation of a remotely piloted aircraft system for the purpose of an operation to save human life, a police operation, a fire-fighting operation or any other operation that is conducted in the service of a public authority.

Handovers

901.42 No pilot shall hand over their responsibilities to another pilot during flight unless, before the take-off or launch of a remotely piloted aircraft,

• (a) a pre-arrangement in respect of the handover has been made between the pilots; and

• (b) a procedure has been developed to mitigate the risk of loss of control of the aircraft.

Payloads

• 901.43 (1) Subject to subsection (2), no pilot shall operate a remotely piloted aircraft system if the aircraft is transporting a payload that

  • (a) includes explosive, corrosive, flammable, or bio-hazardous material;

  • (b) includes weapons, ammunition or other equipment designed for use in war;

  • (c) could create a hazard to aviation safety or cause injury to persons; or

  • (d) is attached to the aircraft by means of a line, unless the operation is conducted in accordance with the operating manuals applicable to the system.

• (2) A pilot may operate a remotely piloted aircraft system when the aircraft is transporting a payload referred to in subsection (1) if the operation is conducted in accordance with a special flight operations certificate — RPAS issued under section 903.03.

Flight Termination System

901.44 No pilot shall activate a system that terminates the flight of a remotely piloted aircraft if it will endanger or will likely endanger aviation safety or the safety of any person.

ELT

901.45 No pilot shall operate a remotely piloted aircraft equipped with an ELT.

Transponder and Automatic Pressure-altitude Reporting Equipment

• 901.46 (1) Subject to subsection (2), no pilot shall operate a remotely piloted aircraft system if the aircraft is in the transponder airspace referred to in section 601.03 unless the aircraft is equipped with a transponder and automatic pressure-altitude reporting equipment.

• (2) An air traffic control unit may authorize a pilot to operate a remotely piloted aircraft that is not equipped in accordance with subsection (1) within the airspace referred to in section 601.03 if

  • (a) the air traffic control unit provides an air traffic control service in respect of that airspace;

  • (b) the pilot made a request to the air traffic control unit to operate the aircraft within that airspace before the aircraft entered the airspace; and

  • (c) aviation safety is not likely to be affected.

Operations at or in the Vicinity of an Aerodrome, Airport or Heliport

• 901.47 (1) No pilot shall operate a remotely piloted aircraft at or near an aerodrome that is listed in the Canada Flight Supplement or the Water Aerodrome Supplement in a manner that could interfere with an aircraft operating in the established traffic pattern.

• (2) Subject to section 901.73, no pilot shall operate a remotely piloted aircraft to conduct a VLOS operation if the aircraft is at a distance of less than

  • (a) three nautical miles from the centre of an airport; and

  • (b) one nautical mile from the centre of a heliport.

• (3) No pilot shall operate a remotely piloted aircraft to conduct a BVLOS operation if the aircraft is at a distance of less than five nautical miles from the centre of an aerodrome that is listed in the Canada Flight Supplement or the Water Aerodrome Supplement unless the operation is conducted in accordance with a special flight operations certificate — RPAS issued under section 903.03.

• (4) No pilot shall operate a remotely piloted aircraft if the aircraft is at a distance of less than three nautical miles from the centre of an aerodrome operated under the authority of the Minister of National Defence unless authorized to do so by the Department of National Defence.

Records

• 901.48 (1) Every owner of a remotely piloted aircraft system shall keep the following records:

  • (a) a record containing the names of the pilots and other crew members who are involved in each flight and, in respect of the system, the time of each flight or series of flights; and

  • (b) a record containing the particulars of any mandatory action and any other maintenance action, modification or repair performed on the system, including

    • (i) the names of the persons who performed them,

    • (ii) the dates they were undertaken,

    • (iii) in the case of a modification, the manufacturer, model and a description of the part or equipment installed to modify the system, and

    • (iv) if applicable, any instructions provided to complete the work.

• (2) Every owner of a remotely piloted aircraft system shall ensure that the records referred to in subsection (1) are made available to the Minister on request and are retained for a period of

  • (a) in the case of the records referred to in paragraph (1)(a), 12 months after the day on which they are created; and

  • (b) in the case of the records referred to in paragraph (1)(b), 24 months after the day on which they are created.

• (3) Every owner of a remotely piloted aircraft system who transfers ownership of the system to another person shall, at the time of transfer, also deliver to that person all of the records referred to in paragraph (1)(b).

Incidents and Accidents — Associated Measures

• 901.49 (1) A pilot that operates a remotely piloted aircraft system shall immediately cease operations if any of the following incidents or accidents occurs until such time as an analysis is undertaken as to the cause of the occurrence and corrective actions have been taken to mitigate the risk of recurrence:

  • (a) injuries to any person requiring medical attention;

  • (b) unintended contact between the aircraft and persons;

  • (c) unanticipated damage incurred to the airframe, control station, payload or command and control links that adversely affects the performance or flight characteristics of the aircraft;

  • (d) any time the aircraft is not kept within horizontal boundaries or altitude limits;

  • (e) any collision with or risk of collision with another aircraft;

  • (f) any time the aircraft becomes uncontrollable, experiences a fly-away or is missing; and

  • (g) any incident not referred to in paragraphs (a) to (f) for which a police report has been filed or for which a Civil Aviation Daily Occurrence Report has resulted.

• (2) The pilot of the remotely piloted aircraft system shall keep, and make available to the Minister on request, a record of any analyses undertaken under subsection (1) for a period of 12 months after the day on which the record is created.

Dropping of Objects

901.50 No pilot shall create a hazard to persons or property on the surface by dropping an object from a remotely piloted aircraft in flight.

Service Difficulty Reporting

901.51 The pilot of a remotely piloted aircraft system of a model for which a declaration referred to in section 901.194 has been made and for which an acceptance letter has been issued under section 901.196 shall ensure that any reportable service difficulty that is discovered with respect to the system is reported to the person who has made the declaration as soon as feasible after the discovery.

[901.52 reserved]

Division IV — Basic Operations

Application

901.53 This Division applies in respect of the operation of small remotely piloted aircraft to conduct a VLOS operation in uncontrolled airspace and at a distance of not less than 100 feet (30 m), measured horizontally and at any altitude, from any person not involved in the operation.

Pilot Requirements

• 901.54 (1) Subject to subsection (2), no person shall operate a remotely piloted aircraft system under this Division unless the person

  • (a) is at least 14 years of age; and

  • (b) holds

    • (i) a pilot certificate — small remotely piloted aircraft (VLOS) — basic operations issued under section 901.55,

    • (ii) a pilot certificate — remotely piloted aircraft — advanced operations issued under section 901.64, or

    • (iii) a pilot certificate — remotely piloted aircraft — level 1 complex operations issued under section 901.90.

• (2) Subsection (1) does not apply if the operation of the remotely piloted aircraft system is conducted under the direct supervision of a person who is permitted to operate such a system under this Division, Division V or Division VI.

Issuance of Pilot Certificate — Small Remotely Piloted Aircraft (VLOS) — Basic Operations

901.55 The Minister shall, on receipt of an application, issue a pilot certificate — small remotely piloted aircraft (VLOS) — basic operations if the applicant demonstrates to the Minister that the applicant

• (a) is at least 14 years of age; and

• (b) has successfully completed the examination “Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems — Basic Operations” in accordance with the document entitled Knowledge Requirements for Pilots of Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems, 250 g up to and including 150 kg, Basic and Advanced Operations, TP 15263, published by the Minister.

Recency Requirements

• 901.56 (1) No holder of a pilot certificate — small remotely piloted aircraft (VLOS) — basic operations, a pilot certificate — remotely piloted aircraft — advanced operations or a pilot certificate — remotely piloted aircraft — level 1 complex operations shall operate a remotely piloted aircraft system under this Division unless the holder has, within the 24 months preceding the flight,

  • (a) been issued a pilot certificate — small remotely piloted aircraft (VLOS) — basic operations under section 901.55, a pilot certificate — remotely piloted aircraft — advanced operations under section 901.64 or a pilot certificate — remotely piloted aircraft — level 1 complex operations under section 901.90; or

  • (b) successfully completed

    • (i) any of the examinations referred to in paragraph 901.55(b), 901.64(b) or 901.90(d),

    • (ii) any of the flight reviews referred to in paragraph 901.64(c) or 901.90(e), or

    • (iii) any of the recurrent training activities set out in section 921.04 of Standard 921 — Remotely Piloted Aircraft.

• (2) The person referred to in subsection (1) shall keep a record of all activities referred to in paragraph (1)(b), including the dates on which they were completed, for at least 24 months after the day on which they were completed.

Access to Certificate and Proof of Recency

901.57 No pilot shall operate a remotely piloted aircraft system under this Division unless both of the following are easily accessible to the pilot during the operation of the system:

• (a) the pilot certificate — small remotely piloted aircraft (VLOS) — basic operations issued under section 901.55, the pilot certificate — remotely piloted aircraft — advanced operations issued under section 901.64 or the pilot certificate — remotely piloted aircraft — level 1 complex operations issued under section 901.90; and

• (b) documentation demonstrating that the pilot meets the recency requirements set out in section 901.56.

Examination Rules

901.58 No person shall, in respect of an examination taken under this Division,

• (a) copy or remove from any place all or any portion of the text of the examination;

• (b) give help to or accept help from any person during the examination, unless authorized by the Minister for accommodation purposes; or

• (c) complete all or any portion of the examination on behalf of any other person.

Retaking of Examination

901.59 No person who fails an examination taken under this Division shall retake the examination for a period of 24 hours after the examination.

[901.60 and 901.61 reserved]

Division V — Advanced Operations

Application

901.62 This Division applies in respect of the following operations of a remotely piloted aircraft system:

• (a) the operation of a small remotely piloted aircraft to conduct a VLOS operation

  • (i) in controlled airspace,

  • (ii) at a distance of less than 100 feet (30 m) but not less than 16.4 feet (5 m), measured horizontally and at any altitude, from any person not involved in the operation,

  • (iii) at a distance of less than 16.4 feet (5 m), measured horizontally and at any altitude, from any person not involved in the operation, or

  • (iv) within three nautical miles from the centre of an airport or within one nautical mile from the centre of a heliport;

• (b) the operation of a small remotely piloted aircraft to conduct an extended VLOS operation in uncontrolled airspace;

• (c) the operation of a small remotely piloted aircraft to conduct a sheltered operation;

• (d) the operation of a medium remotely piloted aircraft to conduct a VLOS operation in uncontrolled airspace and at a distance of 500 feet (152.4 m) or more, measured horizontally and at any altitude, from any person not involved in the operation;

• (e) the operation of a medium remotely piloted aircraft to conduct a VLOS operation in uncontrolled airspace and at a distance of less than 500 feet (152.4 m) but not less than 100 feet (30 m), measured horizontally and at any altitude, from any person not involved in the operation;

• (f) the operation of a medium remotely piloted aircraft to conduct a VLOS operation at a distance of less than 100 feet (30 m), measured horizontally and at any altitude, from any person not involved in the operation; and

• (g) the operation of a medium remotely piloted aircraft to conduct a VLOS operation in controlled airspace.