CHIRP

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CHIRP Drone/UAS #12: Geofence breach. Ageing batteries. NOTAMs

Access the CHIRP December 2024 edition 12, covering those 3 reports, HERE.

  • Report No1 – DUAS xx21 – Loss of control following geofence breach
  • Report No2 – DUAS xx22 – Ageing batteries and what to look out for
  • Report No3 – DUAS 0032 – NOTAMs and whether they get read

Foreword by Rupert Dent, Drone/UAS Programme Manager

Welcome to CHIRP Drone FEEDBACK Edition 12.0


I hope you have had a good summer’s drone flying, whether for pleasure or professionally. Statistics
from the Regulator indicate that the number of flyers continues to increase, albeit perhaps at a
lower rate than before. However, there are a growing number of drones in the air, and economically sustainable use-cases continue to be developed in the professional market. Diverse use cases involve different aircraft variants that perform very different functions. All of them bring along different human/computer system interface risks to the party. Each of them have unique Human Factor related challenges. A couple of good examples are described in this edition!


Since CHIRP Edition 11, there have as ever been some excellent new regulatory and technical innovations
in the world of drones. These include announcements about the Atypical Air Environment; plans for
implementation of SORA 2.5 in 2025; as well as a new subscriber-based digital fight approval service, which aims to reduce administration time for managing requests to landowners for take-of and landing requests. Airports adopting this include Aberdeen, Southampton, Cambridge and a combined Oxford Airport and Blenheim Palace. Encouraging though this may be, we continue to collect evidence of good old traditional Human Factors having as much influence on day-today flying and learning, as ever!


Let’s look at several recent examples and see what conclusions we can draw.


PS it can’t go without a mention that winter is of course approaching once more! Watch out for the HF consequences of lower temperatures, fog, snow and frozen fingers!


Rupert Dent
CHIRP Drone / UAS Programme Manager

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CHIRP Drone/UAS Feedback Edition 11

Design, Build and Operations

Always Expect the Unexpected

Welcome to Drone FEEDBACK Edition 11. The weather has not been very helpful to Drone flying
since we published Edition 10 in April. We have now passed midsummer day and are hoping for rather more stable conditions for late summer and early autumn. The wind has been somewhat troublesome during this period and showers have resulted in stop-start scenarios with the potential consequences manifesting themselves at the image processing stage, long after the Operator has left the site. All of this results in the potential for Human Factor risks coming from a different direction, when compared to the winter period. If for instance you have to stop for an hour to let rain clouds move on, should you continue your mapping flight on the same set of batteries or change to a full set earlier than your original site planning had anticipated? If so, what are the consequences for capturing the required data in the remainder of the shift?

So, while operational Human Factors can be driven by seasonal aspects, it can also be driven by equipment design aspects. In this edition we note a few instances where there have been Human Factor occurrences that have, at their origin, the design or the manufacturing of the Uncrewed Aircraft System itself, with consequences on piloting the aircraft.

The last point I want to make is that because the use of Drones has increased across a variety of industry sectors, we are always looking for additional members for our Board who have expertise in Operating Drones in the solar, wind turbine (both onshore and offshore), construction, electricity distribution, emergency services and linear-asset inspection sectors. If you are operating in these sectors and would like to contribute to broadening the Human Factors and Just Culture knowledge of Drone users generally, do get in touch. We would welcome your knowledge as we review reports submitted to CHIRP. Email [email protected] for the attention of Rupert Dent, Drone/UAS Programme Manager.


Stay safe and have an enjoyable summer’s flying!

Rupert Dent, Drone/UAS Programme Manager

Contents:

  • * Report to CHIRP!
  • * Comments on previous editions
  • * Get 5% discount at Pooleys Flight
  • * Equipment through CHIRP
  • * I learned About Human Factors From That (ILAHFFT)
  • * DUAS31 – Battery fell out in flight
  • * DUASxx18 – Drone took off with incorrectly fitted rotor arms
  • * DUASxx19 – The Swiss cheese strikes again
  • * DUASxx20 – Always expect the unexpected

Read CHIRP Feedback Edition 11

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CHIRP UAS/Drone Feedback Edition 8

CHIRP provides a vital safety net as another route to promote change when the normal channels of reporting aren’t delivering results, you don’t feel able to report through formal Occurrence Reporting systems, and for collecting reports with safety concerns that did not meet the threshold for normal reporting and would otherwise have gone unwritten. Edition 8 of CHIRP Drone FEEDBACK can be found on the CHIRP Drones webpage and provides thoughts on Human Factors aspects from recent reports about loss of power incidents, C2 link considerations, and obstacle avoidance.

Please let CHIRP know what you think of FEEDBACK by completing their short survey.

How do we ensure operators stay interested and motivated enough to remain abreast of changing rules?

Welcome to Drone FEEDBACK Edition 8.

Summer is underway. New regulations from CAP 722 Edition 9.1 along with Acceptable Means of Compliance / Guidance Material issued on 7th December are becoming bedded down in the Drone world. All applications for initial and renewal of Operational Authorisations are now being made under the new regulations.

What does this have to do with Human Factors I hear you say. Well, out and about talking to Drone users, I for one have had conversations with Drone pilots, who have made it clear to me that the regulations are becoming so complicated that they have an increasing tendency to just ignore them, not bother with either Flyer or OA renewals, but just carry on with occasional use of their legacy Drone, when they have small tasks to perform.

As technology evolves and Drones become more and more capable, the regulations must accommodate their additional capabilities, to maintain or indeed improve on the levels of safety. How do we deal with the Human Factors associated with ensuring the Drone community stays interested and motivated enough, to remain abreast of the rules? We cannot rely on the police alone to find transgressors.

Ideas on a postcard from wherever your holiday has taken you? Or alternatively respond to the recent CAA Call for Input: Review of UAS Regulations using the following link: Call for Input: Review of UK UAS Regulations – Civil Aviation Authority – Citizen Space (caa.co.uk) (now closed)

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CHIRP – New Telephone Number

CHIRP’s aviation programme improves safety in the air by providing a totally independent confidential reporting system for all individuals involved in aviation in UK airspace.

CHIRP has recently changed its telephone contact number to 020 4534 2881. The preferred method of submitting a report remains the website portal but telephone contact provides a means of liaising directly with the CHIRP team if necessary.

2 June 2023

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CHIRP Drone/UAS FEEDBACK Edition 7

The latest edition of  Drone FEEDBACK Edition 7, has been released and it sheds light on some significant occurrences related to Human Factors and Just Culture. The newsletter reports incidents like the collision of an Emergency Services Drone with a Cessna 172 aircraft during final approach to an aerodrome and a 28kg Drone that was filming at the Henley Regatta but ran out of battery, dropped vertically and narrowly missed passengers on a boat. These incidents highlight the crucial role of Human Factors in drone operations and the need for a Just Culture approach in dealing with such occurrences.

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CHIRP General Aviation Feedback January 2023

You Have Control

Pushing the wrong button or failing to attach a prop correctly might be a remote pilot’s nightmare and hence maybe why it is tempting to think that such a thing couldn’t happen to you. After all, you know your equipment inside out and have tens, perhaps even hundreds, of incident-free flying hours behind you.

But as a remote pilot, you should be keenly aware of other factors that could indirectly or directly affect your performance and decrease the safety of your operations.

Drones have advanced safety technology, including highly autonomous flight capabilities, object detection and avoidance, and emergency return features. Yet Mandatory Occurrence Reports (MOR) and Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) findings highlight HF’s increasing role in drone incidents reported by approved operators. 2021 data shows that over 30% of reported loss of control (LOC) events were caused by human error – the most reported factor.

The role of Human Factors (HF) in aviation safety has been recognised and studied since the 1970s. How people behave under stress, when fatigued or impaired; the ease with which we can become distracted by – and sometimes fixated on – non-mission-critical events; the psychology of crew and team interactions; the risks of complacency that comes with familiarity.

Read more
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CHIRP FEEDBACK 6: December 2022

Even if the perception of Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) is that they are becoming more autonomous, people are still a key part of the system and ensuring they are taking account of Human Factors implications and feel they are working in a Just Culture is essential.

FEEDBACK is CHIRP’s regular publication that seeks to communicate the occurrences we are informed about, draw some lessons, and pass them on to flyers who might benefit. In doing so, CHIRP Drone Feedback Edition 6 reviews a number of UAS accidents/incidents and offers thoughts on the Human Factors aspects – we hope you find them useful.

So, what sort of reports have we seen and are there any trends emerging since the issue of FEEDBACK Edition 5?

Well, we have seen a majority of Human Factors reports of course, but we have now received our first Just Culture report, which we are currently working on. Whilst we do not review it in this issue, we are hoping we can report in full in the next issue of FEEDBACK which will be issued around March / April of 2023. Even if the perception of RPAS is they are becoming more autonomous, people are still a key part of the system and ensuring they are taking account of Human Factors implications and feel they are working in a Just Culture is essential

Read more

Rupert Dent, ARPAS-UK Director Policy & Regulations AND CHIRP UAS Programme Manager

19 December 2022

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CHIRP FEEDBACK 5: September 2022

You might think ‘Read the manual’ is trite, but if you don’t (and understand it…) you can quickly find yourself in a bind

Welcome to Drone FEEDBACK Edition 5. In this edition of Feedback, there is something of a smorgasbord of reports from a number of different Drone Operator communities.

Read more…

September 2022

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CHIRP FEEDBACK 4: May 2022

This is why we do what we do: Lightning never strikes twice in the same place – or does it?

The aim is that Drone pilots, who are in many cases relatively new members to the world of aviation, will be able to benefit from lessons learnt and existing practices that have developed within the aviation sector over many years for crewed aircraft.

Many of the same theories that apply to crewed aircraft apply to aircraft with remote pilots. If all of us can learn from an event that happened to one individual and might happen to another, it is to everyone’s advantage to be able to do so.

CHIRP is the conduit for individuals to share their experience of Human Factors occurrences safely and confidentially in a way that enables many others to learn from them.

Read more…

May 2022

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CHIRP FEEDBACK 3: January 2022

Since FEEDBACK Edition 2 was published in July 2021, efforts to continue to convey the benefits that
the CHIRP drone programme will bring to the world of remotely piloted aircraft have continued and with some success.

Working with the CAA, CHIRP has done some fact finding. 16,746 individuals who have signed up to Skywise have indicated they are happy to receive information about drones. FEEDBACK Edition 2 was sent to all of these Skywise subscribers.

Read more…