EASA launches public consultation for proposals on drone airworthiness and certification

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has published Notice of Proposed Amendment (NPA) 2024-06 to consult aviation stakeholders and citizens on draft proposals for the initial and continuing airworthiness of certified unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). EASA proposes amendments to the existing acceptable means of compliance and guidance material (AMC & GM) to the UAS Regulations and Part 21, as well as new AMC & GM to the newly published Regulations (EU) 2024/1107 and 

(EU) 2024/1109, which were based on EASA Opinion No 03/2023.

The draft proposals aim to:

• ensure a high and uniform level of safety for UAS subject to certification and operated in the ‘specific’ category;
• provide guidance to the EU Member States’ competent authorities for the application of the UAS Regulations;
• support the implementation of the new regulatory framework applicable to UAS;
• help affected stakeholders understand the specificities of the new regulatory framework; and
• address the novelties of UAS compared to manned aviation.

Regulations (EU) 2024/1107 and (EU) 2024/1109 were issued in May following the publication of EASA Opinion No 03/2023 back in August 2023. Opinion No 03/2023 contained regulatory material for the airworthiness and certification of UAS including vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft and air taxis. The related NPA 2024-01 with the draft AMC & GM on VTOL-capable aircraft was published in January 2024. This NPA is one additional step of this rulemaking task (RMT.0230), which will be concluded with the publication of the final AMC & GM under the respective Executive Director Decisions.

Tags: European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA)