NASA · Aviation Safety Reporting System
Part 107 UAS pilot reported the UAS entered Class C airspace during a flight without LAANC authorization.
What is ASRS?
The Aviation Safety Reporting System is NASA's voluntary, confidential, non- punitive incident-reporting system, established 1976. Pilots, controllers, dispatchers, and maintenance technicians file reports describing safety- relevant events. NASA de-identifies every report before adding it to the public database. Reports are not investigated by NASA, the FAA, or the NTSB — they represent the reporter's perspective.
Pilot narrative
Verbatim from the de-identified NASA record. First-person account by the
reporter. NASA strips identifying details (names, company, specific time);
anonymization placeholders are ZZZ,
X, Y.
On Day 0 at approximately XA00 local time, a DJI Mavic 3 pro was being operated at Location X for the purpose of collecting video footage of the college's soccer teams. The Pilot in Command (PIC) was Person A. Person B was the Person Manipulating the Controls (PMC) under the PIC's direct supervision. The maximum altitude was 148 feet (45m) AGL. During the flight the UAS inadvertently entered Class C airspace. The PIC failed to properly utilize the LAANC/FAA B4UFLY approved applications during pre-flight planning, resulting in an unauthorized entry into Class C airspace. The Pilot in Command was unaware of the proximity to the Class C boundary at the time of this flight. During the operation, the flight crew received digital warnings from the control application regarding potential manned aircraft in the vicinity, advising caution. No close interactions or loss of separation with manned aircraft occurred. The flight was completed as planned and the PIC did not realize the airspace violation occurred until after the flight was concluded and was later reviewing flight data. There was no damage to the UAS or any property and no injuries were sustained. There was no operational impact to manned aircraft. The primary corrective action being implemented by the college for all future UAS operations is the immediate establishment of mandatory, documented check-in process for all operating pilots. This process will require pilots to obtain formal flight approval from the Supervisor prior to flight. To verify airspace compliance and obtain necessary authorization before departure using FAA B4UFLY approved application, with documentation retained as part of the flight record. PIC, Person A will undergo focused re-training on airspace classifications and pre- flight compliance procedures.
Analyst callback
ASRS analysts occasionally follow up with reporters by phone. These are the paraphrased additional notes from those conversations.
The reporter had no additional information to share.
NASA classification — Anomalies
- Airspace Violation
- Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural
NASA classification — Assessments
- Contributing Factors / Situations
- Human Factors
- Primary Problem
- Human Factors
ASRS reports are voluntarily submitted, de-identified by NASA, and represent the reporter's perspective. The presence of reports on a topic cannot be used to infer prevalence in the National Airspace System. The authoritative source is the NASA ASRS Database Online at asrs.arc.nasa.gov ↗.