FAA Cancels Drone Seller’s Exemption | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-07.07.25

Airborne-NextGen-07.08.25

AirborneUnlimited-07.09.25

Airborne-FlightTraining-07.10.25

AirborneUnlimited-07.11.25

Thu, Jul 11, 2024

FAA Cancels Drone Seller’s Exemption

Allegedly Violated Terms of Their Exemption

On July 5, the FAA rescinded the exemption held by a drone seller for 55-pound and heavier drone operations and denied a petition to amend the exemption. 

This action was taken for alleged violations of the conditions and limitations (C&L) of the exemption. The drone seller has the option to challenge the cancelation in court.

The drone seller had a training-for-hire session advertised on their website which the FAA saw and in response, visited the training session to observe it. The FAA safety inspectors witnessed the pilot in command presenting training-for-hire activities for non-employees. When the PIC spoke with the inspectors he said the activities were “training.” The FAA asked him under what training authority he was using, the PIC said he was operating under an exemption for 55-pound and heavier operations.

The PIC said “his customers” were also the visual observers (VOs) for the operation. However when asked by the FAA, the PIC could not say whether any of the “VOs” had been through VO training. The FAA also observed the PIC fly the drone closer than 100 feet from the session attendees as well as a non-participating farmer tilling in the field where the session was held.

At the training session, the PIC was unable to provide these documents:

  • Exemption document
  • PIC’s Part 107 certificate
  • UAS registration
  • Operating documents listed in the exemption
  • No checklist to verify a preflight inspection

The drone seller did furnish several of the above documents but was unable to produce these:

  • Proof of registration for the UAS
  • Any preflight inspections for any of the UAS operated
  • Documentation for any training conducted including for VOs
  • Documentation of any maintenance performed on any of the UAS
  • Any FAA authorization allowing non-employee training

The FAA observed the training sessions on April 8th and 9th, and interviewed the drone seller on April 9th. The seller’s exemption was canceled on July 5.

FMI:  jrupprechtlaw.com/ ,  jrupprechtlaw.com/faa-drone-spraying-exemption/

Advertisement

More News

NTSB Final Report: Aviat A1

Airplane Bounced About 3 Ft Then Touched Back Down And Then, With No Brakes Applied, The Airplane Began Veering To The Left Analysis: The pilot entered the airport traffic pattern >[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (07.08.25)

Aero Linx: British Microlight Aircraft Association (BMAA) The primary focus within all aviation activity is SAFETY. In all aspects of our sport SAFETY must come first, whether it b>[...]

Classic Aero-TV: Fly Corvair’s Reliable Engine Alternative

From SnF25 (YouTube Edition): William Wynne Builds Practical Aircraft Engines on the Corvair Platform Seeking an affordable alternative to the traditional aircraft engine options, >[...]

ANN FAQ: Contributing To Aero-TV

How To Get A Story On Aero-TV News/Feature Programming How do I submit a story idea or lead to Aero-TV? If you would like to submit a story idea or lead, please contact Jim Campbel>[...]

Classic Aero-TV: CiES Fuel-Quantity and e-Throttle Systems Praised

From 2023 (YouTube Edition): Bridge of CiES CiES Inc. is a Bend, Oregon-based designer and manufacturer of modular embedded aircraft systems and sensors. The company’s fuel-l>[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Advertisement

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2025 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC