Drone safety procedures are the documented sequence of checks, decisions, and actions a remote pilot in command performs before, during, and after every flight to identify hazards and keep risk at an acceptable level. A working set covers aircraft airworthiness, airspace and weather assessment, crew coordination, and post-flight maintenance logging. This is not paperwork for its own sake; it is the difference between a routine sortie and an NTSB report.
Before experimenting with any firmware changes, make sure your aircraft still passes a standard airworthiness review, as outlined in our drone safety procedures and pre-flight checklist which helps you catch issues a mod might introduce.
We run these checklists on every commercial job at MTS UAV, from powerline inspections to public-safety support flights. What follows is the actual sequence we use, built around 14 CFR Part 107 requirements, FAA Advisory Circular 107-2A, and the Airman Certification Standards for small unmanned aircraft systems.
For related procedures, see the Faa Part 107 Regulations guide.
For related procedures, see the Part 107 Emergency Procedures Lost Link Flyaway Gps Loss guide.
Why Drone Safety Procedures Matter Under Part 107
Part 107 does not mandate a specific checklist format, but 14 CFR 107.49 requires the remote PIC to complete a preflight familiarization and inspection before every flight, and 107.7 gives the FAA authority to inspect aircraft and records after an incident. Skipping documented procedures does not violate a single named regulation on its own, but it removes the evidence a pilot needs to demonstrate compliance if an accident is investigated.
The Regulatory Baseline: 107.49 and 107.7
14 CFR 107.49 requires the remote PIC to check that the control link is working, the aircraft has enough charge or fuel for the intended operation, and all systems are functioning properly before flight begins. 14 CFR 107.7 requires the operator to make the aircraft and records available to the FAA within a reasonable time after a request. Together these two sections are the legal floor under every checklist you build.
Where “Part 107 Performance” Actually Comes From
Part 107 aircraft performance is governed less by the rule text and more by the aircraft’s flight manual limits, battery discharge characteristics, and the pilot’s risk assessment for that specific site. The regulation sets the legal ceiling (400 feet AGL under 107.51, unless operating within 400 feet of a structure) and the operational requirements (VLOS, weather minimums under 107.51), but actual performance in wind, cold, or high density altitude is a manufacturer-spec and pilot-judgment problem, not something Part 107 itself calculates for you.
Pilots searching for “Part 107 performance” are usually trying to reconcile two things: the ACS knowledge areas tested on the initial and recurrent knowledge exam, and the real-world performance limits of their airframe. The ACS covers aircraft performance conceptually (weight, loading, density altitude effects) so you can answer test questions; your aircraft’s flight manual and your own test flights tell you what the airframe actually does at your site.
Pre-Flight Checklist: Aircraft, Airspace, and Crew
A complete pre-flight checklist has three parallel tracks that all need to clear before launch: the aircraft itself, the airspace and weather environment, and the crew’s fitness and roles. Missing any one of the three is a common root cause in FAA accident reports involving sUAS.
Airframe and Payload Inspection
Physically inspect props, arms, gimbal, and payload mounts for cracks, play, or loose fasteners before every flight, not just at intervals. Check firmware version against the manufacturer’s release notes, confirm compass and IMU calibration status, and verify the battery is within its rated cycle count and shows no swelling.
- Visual inspection of props for chips, delamination, or stress whitening
- Arm and motor mount torque check, especially after hard landings
- Gimbal and camera mount play test
- Battery voltage, temperature, and swelling check
- Firmware and RTK/GPS module version confirmation
- Payload release mechanism function test (for delivery or drop payloads)
Airspace, NOTAM, and Weather Review
Confirm controlled airspace authorization through LAANC or a manual FAA authorization if operating in Class B, C, D, or surface E airspace, and check for TFRs and NOTAMs covering the operating area within the hour before launch. Cross-check current wind, gust spread, temperature, and precipitation against the aircraft’s flight manual limits, not just against your personal comfort level.
14 CFR 107.51 sets minimum weather visibility (3 statute miles from the control station) and cloud clearance requirements (500 feet below, 2,000 feet horizontal from clouds). These are legal minimums, not operational recommendations; most commercial programs set tighter internal limits, particularly for wind gusts exceeding 20 knots or temperatures outside the airframe’s certified operating range.
Crew Briefing and Risk Assessment
Brief every crew member (remote PIC, visual observer, payload operator) on roles, lost-link procedures, and emergency landing zones before the aircraft leaves the case. Complete a written risk assessment scoring likelihood and severity for the specific site, not a generic template filled out once and reused for every job.
Risk Management and Hazardous Attitudes
Risk management in sUAS operations means systematically identifying hazards, assessing their likelihood and severity, and applying controls before, during, and after flight, rather than reacting after something goes wrong. The FAA’s ACS and AC 107-2A both build this around the same five-hazardous-attitudes framework used in manned aviation training.
The Five Hazardous Attitudes
The FAA identifies five hazardous attitudes that degrade pilot decision-making: anti-authority, impulsivity, invulnerability, macho, and resignation. Each has a specific antidote taught in FAA aeronautical decision-making material, and recognizing which attitude is driving a bad decision in the moment is the actual skill being tested, not just memorizing the list.
| Hazardous Attitude | How It Shows Up in sUAS Ops | Antidote Thought |
|---|---|---|
| Anti-authority | Ignoring TFRs or company SOPs because “the rule doesn’t apply here” | Follow the rules; they are usually right |
| Impulsivity | Launching without completing the checklist because the client is waiting | Not so fast, think first |
| Invulnerability | Flying BVLOS without a waiver because “nothing bad happens to me” | It could happen to me |
| Macho | Flying in gusts above manufacturer limits to prove skill | Taking chances is foolish |
| Resignation | Continuing a flight with a known compass error because “what’s the use” | I’m not helpless, I can make a difference |
Applying Risk Controls in the Field
Convert identified hazards into concrete controls: altitude buffers around structures, a designated abort altitude, a lost-link home point verified before takeoff, and a hard go/no-go gate tied to specific wind and battery thresholds rather than a feeling. Document the control applied for each hazard on the pre-flight form so the next pilot on that airframe has the history.
In-Flight Procedures and Emergency Response
In-flight procedures cover continuous monitoring of aircraft telemetry, airspace awareness, and battery reserves, plus rehearsed responses for lost link, flyaway, and low-battery return-to-home events. The goal is to have decided the response before the emergency happens, because in-flight decision time on a small aircraft is measured in seconds.
Battery and Link Monitoring Thresholds
Set a hard return-to-home trigger at a fixed battery percentage, commonly 30 percent for multirotor platforms, and a second hard land-now trigger at 15 to 20 percent, both configured in the flight controller rather than left to pilot memory. Monitor RF link quality continuously and brief the visual observer to call out any degradation immediately rather than waiting for a full lost-link event.
Lost Link and Flyaway Response
Configure and verify the lost-link return-to-home altitude and coordinates before every flight, and confirm that altitude clears all obstacles along the return path, not just at the launch point. If a flyaway occurs, the remote PIC’s first action is to notify air traffic control or the relevant facility if the aircraft has entered controlled airspace or poses a collision hazard, per the emergency authority granted under 14 CFR 107.21.
Post-Flight Checklist and sUAS Maintenance
Post-flight procedures close the loop on the flight by inspecting the airframe for new damage, logging battery cycles and flight time, and recording any anomalies that occurred so they inform the next pre-flight inspection. sUAS maintenance is not optional under Part 107 in the way it is for certificated aircraft, but a documented program is the only defense if the FAA asks why an aircraft failed.
Post-Flight Inspection Sequence
- Inspect props, arms, and landing gear for damage from the landing
- Check motor and ESC temperature for abnormal heat
- Download and back up flight logs and telemetry
- Record battery voltage, cycle count, and any swelling before storage
- Log any in-flight anomalies (RTH triggers, link drops, GPS glitches)
- Clean gimbal and camera glass before case storage
Building a Maintenance Log That Holds Up
A usable maintenance log records date, airframe serial number, flight hours, component replaced or inspected, and the name of the person who performed the work, entered after every flight rather than reconstructed weeks later. AC 107-2A recommends a maintenance program even though Part 107 does not require an FAA-approved maintenance schedule, and a clean log is the fastest way to demonstrate a good-faith safety program during an FAA inspection under 107.7.
Documentation, Records, and 14 CFR 107.7 Compliance
14 CFR 107.7 requires a remote PIC or operator to make required documents, records, and reports available to the FAA upon request, and to produce the small unmanned aircraft itself for inspection or testing if requested. Programs that keep checklist forms, maintenance logs, and waiver documentation in one accessible system pass these requests without delay; programs that keep records scattered across group chats and memory do not.
What to Keep and How Long
Retain remote pilot certificates, aircraft registration, waiver or authorization documents, completed pre-flight and post-flight checklists, and maintenance logs for the operational life of the airframe at minimum. Many public-safety and enterprise programs retain records for the life of the program plus a defined retention period, often three to seven years, to cover potential litigation or insurance claims.
| Document | Required By | Typical Retention |
|---|---|---|
| Remote pilot certificate | 14 CFR 107.12 | Life of certificate |
| Aircraft registration | 14 CFR Part 48 | Life of registration |
| Pre-flight/post-flight checklist | 14 CFR 107.49 (procedure), 107.7 (production) | 3-7 years (program policy) |
| Maintenance log | AC 107-2A recommendation | Life of airframe |
| Waiver/authorization (e.g., 107.31, 107.51) | 14 CFR 107.200 series | Duration of waiver plus retention period |
Building a Recurrent Training and Currency Program
A recurrent training program keeps remote pilots current on regulatory changes, aircraft-specific procedures, and decision-making skills between the initial certificate and the mandatory recurrent knowledge test. 14 CFR 107.65 requires a recurrent knowledge test every 24 calendar months, but a real safety program layers scenario-based training and hazardous-attitude review on top of that minimum.
Meeting the 24-Month Recurrent Requirement
Remote pilots must pass either the recurrent knowledge test (Part 107 Small UAS – Recurrent, ALC-677) or an equivalent online training course found in FAA-approved ALC listings before the end of the 24th calendar month after their last test or training completion. Programs that track expiration dates on a spreadsheet or LMS avoid the lapse that grounds a pilot from acting as PIC until retested.
Scenario-Based Drills Beyond the Minimum
Scenario-based drills rehearse lost-link procedures, flyaway response, low-battery decision points, and airspace incursions so pilots react from practiced habit rather than improvisation under stress. Quarterly tabletop reviews of near-miss reports and monthly stick-time requirements on program aircraft close the gap between passing a written test and flying competently in the field.
Part 107 Performance: What Pilots Actually Need to Demonstrate
Part 107 performance means the demonstrated ability to apply aeronautical knowledge, risk judgment, and aircraft control consistently across real missions, not just a passing score on the initial exam. The FAA measures the entry point through the knowledge test, but ongoing performance is judged by incident rates, waiver compliance, and how a pilot handles the unscripted problems checklists cannot fully anticipate.
Knowledge Test Areas That Predict Field Performance
The Part 107 Airman Knowledge Testing Supplement covers airspace classification, weather minimums, loading and performance, and emergency procedures, and pilots who treat these as memorized answers rather than applied skills tend to struggle with real dispatch decisions. Programs that require pilots to explain the reasoning behind a sectional chart reading or a density-altitude calculation, not just the final number, see fewer airspace and weather-related incidents in daily operations.
Tracking Performance Metrics Over Time
Objective performance tracking uses metrics such as checklist completion rate, unplanned RTH events, hard landings, and battery incidents per hundred flight hours to flag pilots who need additional training before a serious mishap occurs. A simple monthly scorecard reviewed by a chief pilot or program manager catches drift in habits long before it shows up in an FAA enforcement action or an insurance claim.
Conclusion
Drone safety procedures work only when they are treated as a continuous loop, not a single form filled out before takeoff. Pre-flight inspection, risk management using a documented matrix, in-flight monitoring, honest post-flight debriefs, and disciplined sUAS maintenance logging each feed the next cycle, and skipping any one of them removes the redundancy that catches small problems before they become reportable accidents. Recognizing hazardous attitudes such as anti-authority, impulsivity, invulnerability, macho, and resignation in yourself and your crew, and pairing that awareness with real Part 107 performance metrics rather than a one-time passing score, is what separates a program that survives an FAA ramp check and an insurance audit from one that only looks compliant on paper.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should be on a drone pre-flight checklist?
A preflight checklist should cover airspace authorization, weather and NOTAM review, battery and firmware checks, propeller and airframe inspection, GPS lock, control link range test, and site hazard assessment before every mission launch.
What are the five hazardous attitudes in aviation?
The five hazardous attitudes are anti-authority, impulsivity, invulnerability, macho, and resignation. Drone pilots must recognize these thought patterns and apply antidotes like following rules and evaluating risk objectively to counter them.
How often should sUAS maintenance be performed?
sUAS maintenance should follow manufacturer schedules, typically including inspections before every flight, deeper checks after every 25-50 flight hours, and full teardown servicing annually or after any hard landing or crash.
What is included in a post-flight drone inspection?
Post-flight inspection includes checking propellers for cracks, motors for overheating, battery temperature and voltage, logging flight data and anomalies, and securing the aircraft for storage or transport to the next site.
How does risk management apply to drone operations?
Risk management involves identifying hazards like weather, airspace congestion, and equipment failure, then applying mitigations such as visual observers, geofencing, and abort procedures to keep residual risk within acceptable operational limits.
Who is responsible for enforcing drone safety procedures?
The remote pilot in command holds ultimate responsibility for enforcing safety procedures, though organizations should designate a safety officer to standardize checklists, maintenance logs, and training across all crew members and missions.
What documentation should be kept after each drone flight?
Keep flight logs noting duration, location, weather, battery cycles, incidents, and maintenance actions. This documentation supports FAA compliance, warranty claims, insurance requirements, and helps identify recurring mechanical or procedural issues over time.
About MTS UAV
MTS UAV is an independent drone research blog covering Part 107 operations, drone mapping, photogrammetry, counter-UAS, and hands-on UAV research. Content is written by practitioners, for practitioners.