Allows New Capabilities That Were Not Previously Available

Thousands of UAV operators who had been granted a Section 333 exemptions prior to the FAA's change to a blanket exemption to its Certificates of Waiver or Authorization (COA) in March have been granted some new capabilities that were not possible before, according to the Rupprecht Law firm, which specializes in drone law.

There are four important points to consider, according to the firm:

1) Many can now register via Part 48 or Part 47. Some of the older 333’s were ONLY Part 47. Please remember that the Part 48 registration database is being challenged in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals by John Taylor.

2) The FAA created a giant list of approved aircraft. The FAA became tired of granting 333 exemption amendment requests to add aircraft. To solve this once and for all, the FAA approved the exemption holder for whatever was on the list. The FAA just kept updating the list over time and this met the needs of many; however, if you were granted an exemption prior to around May 2015, you most likely did not have the “super list” provision in your 333 exemption.

3) Flight instruction is now allowed. Rupprecht says this will help promote safety and a culture of professionalism in the drone industry.

4) The older 333 exemptions did not have a provision to allow the operation of foreign civil aircraft which is “(a) an aircraft of foreign registry that is not part of the armed forces of a foreign nation, or (b) a U.S.-registered aircraft owned, controlled or operated by persons who are not citizens or permanent residents of the United States.” Now you can obtain a Foreign Aircraft Permit to allow a foreigner to operate under the 333.

There are several other changes included in the update. They are available at the FMI link below.

(Image from file)

FMI: http://jrupprechtlaw.com/4-big-updates-faa-section-333-exemptions