The latest in 2022! Explaining the outline and changes of the aviation law revision regarding drones [Part 1]

Amendments to the Aviation Law were enacted in 2020 and 2021.

Along with this, the system contents of the following items will be significantly changed.

・ Aircraft certification system ・ Operation license ・ Operation management rules ・ Ownership

How will the rules and procedures for drone flight change?

This time, I will explain the outline of the revised Aviation Law and the information that has been clarified at the present time, divided into the first part and the second part based on the interview with Mr. G-Tech Co., Ltd.

In this article, which is the first part, we will explain three of the revised items: the aircraft certification system, operation management rules, and understanding of the owner.

If you are using a drone on a regular basis or are thinking of trying a drone in the future, please refer to it.

Table of contents

2.2 Types of aircraft certification and organizations that carry out inspection work

2.3 What is the type approval system?Explaining the effect on aircraft authentication

2.4 What is the difference between the aircraft certification system and conventional safety certification?

3 About flight management rules

4 Owner registration system / remote ID

4.2 What is a remote ID? When will it be enforced?

5 Precautions before and after the revision of the law [Drone School Edition]

6 Editor's Note

7 Interview cooperation: G-Tech Co., Ltd.

Will the usage of the drone change?Outline of revision

The items to be changed due to the revision of the law are as follows.

■ Aircraft certification

■ Control license

■ Operation management rules

■ Understanding the owner

At the moment, only the law has been passed, and the enforcement is scheduled for next year or later. It seems that the enforcement time will be different for each. In addition, detailed rules will be set by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism as ministerial ordinances, enforcement examples, and enforcement rules.

I will explain the information provided by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism item by item.

Overview of the aircraft certification system

The operational image of the aircraft certification system is as follows.

Overview ・ The government has established a system to certify the safety of aircraft (airframe certification). ・ For unmanned aircraft of the type that has received type approval, the procedure for aircraft certification is simplified. ・ Users are obliged to maintain the aircraft. If it does not meet the safety standards, it will be possible for the maintenance order from the national government, the obligation of the manufacturer to report to the national government for design defects, and the implementation of inspection work by a private inspection agency registered by the national government.

Even now, many drone aircraft such as DJI are safety certified in the form of HP listed aircraft.

However, in the future, it will be inspected whether the drone aircraft conforms to the safety standards set by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, and if it is judged to comply, the aircraft certificate will be issued.

The inspection process will include a type approval system as well as manned aircraft.

I will explain each flow in detail.

The aircraft certification system is scheduled to come into effect around December 2022 (Reiwa 4). It seems that the direction of safety standards for the aircraft will be announced during this year.

Safety standards are the strength, structure and performance standards set by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism to ensure the safety of drones.

In the aircraft certification system, we inspect whether the drone conforms to the above safety standards from the viewpoints of "design", "manufacturing process", and "current situation". "Design" is verified on the actual machine at the time of development, and "Manufacturing process" is examined for product uniformity.

If it meets the safety standards, the aircraft will be certified and the aircraft certificate will be issued.

According to Article 132-14 of this revised law, it seems that the conditions of use may be specified at the time of aircraft certification. In that case, you cannot make a specific flight unless it is within the specified range of the conditions of use. Also, according to Article 157-9, Item 3 of this revised law, please be aware that you will be subject to a fine of up to 500,000 yen in case of violation.

According to Article 132, Paragraph 2 of this amendment, it is obligatory to carry out necessary maintenance on a regular basis even after receiving the aircraft certification, and to maintain the aircraft so that it always meets safety standards.

In addition, according to Article 132-15 of this amendment, if this is contrary to this, it seems that the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism may suspend the validity of maintenance orders and aircraft certification.

There are two types of aircraft certification, type 1 aircraft certification and type 2 aircraft certification, each of which needs to be acquired according to the flight level of the drone.

For the time being, the national government will inspect the first type, and the registered inspection agency will inspect the second type.

Current drone flights are represented in four levels. The guideline for each is as follows.

Level 1: In-visual maneuvering flight (eg aerial photography) Level 2: In-visual automatic flight (eg survey flight, pesticide spraying flight, etc.) Level 3: No-man's land unassisted non-visual flight (eg, no-man's land) Example: Luggage transportation in unmanned areas such as mountainous areas) Level 4: Non-visual flight without assistance in unmanned areas (Example: Luggage transportation by flying over a third party)

Class 1 aircraft certification is required to fly Level 4.

Type 2 aircraft certification will allow you to fly some flights without permitting or approving them. The specific flight contents are "densely inhabited area", "night flight", "people / property less than 30m", and "non-visual flight". In addition, permission / approval procedures are required for "around the airport", "altitude 150m or more", "event sky", "dangerous goods transportation", "property drop", and "above a certain weight", which are currently subject to regulation. However, some examinations will be omitted.

The type approval system is a certification system for "design" and "manufacturing process" related to the drone aircraft certification system. There are type 1 type approval and type 2 type approval, which correspond to the type 1 and type 2 aircraft certification of the aircraft certification system, respectively.

In order to implement the type approval system, the drone manufacturer must first apply to the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. After that, we will determine whether the drone of the type of application meets safety standards and uniformity standards (standards that the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism deems necessary to ensure uniformity).

If it conforms, the type approval will be performed and the type certificate will be issued.

According to Article 132-13, Paragraphs 5 and 6 of this revised law, a drone that has received type approval can be expected to have the effect of simplifying the inspection of aircraft approval.

Reference: https://businessandlaw.jp/articles/a20210608-2/#note11

After receiving the above explanation, some people may think that the aircraft certification system is not much different from the conventional safety certification if it is a system for confirming the safety of drones.

It is said that this revision of the law will significantly change the application method for self-made aircraft (agricultural drones used for spraying pesticides, etc.).

Since the hurdles for safety standards are high under the aircraft certification system, it may be difficult to certify your own machine.

If it is a mass-produced machine, it is possible to obtain type approval and simplify part or all of the inspection, but if it is a self-made machine, all of the "design", "manufacturing process" and "current situation" must be thoroughly inspected. You have to do it.

If you are currently using your own drone, be sure to always check the latest information on the aircraft certification system.

About flight management rules

Overview ・ Check individual flight management methods for third-party flights ・ Clarify flight management rules (such as entry management under flight routes by arranging assistants), which had been a condition for permission / approval, by law Mandatory "reporting flight plans", "creating flight diaries", "reporting to the country in the event of an accident", etc. for those flying unmanned aerial vehicles

Flight management rules have a big impact on who actually flies the drone. Be aware that if you violate the rules, you will be penalized.

It is scheduled to come into effect around December 2022 (Reiwa 4).

The flight plan reports information such as the date and time of the flight, route, altitude, etc., similar to the pre-flight registration obligation called FISS (Flight Information Sharing System).

Previously, there were no legal obligations, so there were no penalties for non-compliance. However, please note that after April 2022, you will be punished by law, and you will be penalized if you fly without registration.

Information such as flight location, flight time, maintenance status, etc. will be recorded in the diary.

Even now, it is obligatory to create a flight record called "flight record" and keep it by yourself. However, there were no penalties even if I did not keep it.

After the revision of the law, you will be penalized if you neglect to create and keep a diary.

It is necessary to report to the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism in the event of an accident such as death or injury of a person, damage to a property, or collision with an aircraft.

Until now, even if an accident caused by a drone occurred, the place to report was not properly defined, and it was common to coordinate with the police and fire department as appropriate.

In the future, if a person dies or the property is damaged, it will be mandatory to report the accident to the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. Failure to report will result in penalties, so always be careful when operating your drone.

If a person is injured by an unmanned aerial vehicle that you control, rescue the injured.

Accident reporting and injured rescue are also covered for flights that do not require permission or approval.

Owner registration system / remote ID

Overview-Established a registration system for owners / users of unmanned aerial vehicles-Register the owner's name / address / aircraft information (model, serial number), oblige to display the registration symbol on the aircraft-Safety issues Refusal of registration of a certain aircraft, renewal registration, etc.

Even now, the owner's information is registered when applying for drone use. With this revision of the law, it is said that the registration system will be re-established and at the same time, the specifications will be changed so that fees will be charged.

Another major change is that the registration procedure requires the installation of a remote ID.

I will explain the details of the owner registration system and the remote ID.

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■ Added in December 2021

The drone aircraft registration system will be mandatory from June 2022. Click here for the latest information and an article explaining how to proceed in detail.

Drone aircraft registration system will be mandatory from June 2022! Thorough explanation [Beginning of pre-registration]

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The owner registration system is a system for managing the name and address of the owner (user) of an unmanned aerial vehicle by associating it with the information of the aircraft.

With this enforcement, the range of unmanned aerial vehicles subject to registration and permission approval will change. Please note that it will be expanded from the current 200g or more to 100g or more.

In addition, it will be changed to a new system for registering by paying a fee.

In the United States, a fee of $ 5 will be charged under a similar system, but it is thought that you will probably pay about 500 to 1000 yen in Japan as well. (* The official amount is undecided) There is a high possibility that electronic payment will be the mainstream payment method.

I will explain how to proceed with the registration procedure.

1. Apply for registration from the smartphone app to the registration system operated by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.
2. Notification of registration code etc. arrives
3. "Write" the issued registration code, etc. on the remote ID chip * To be able to "write" by the method specified by the country
4. completion

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism will explain how information is managed.

1. Registration application from the owner arrives at the registration system
2. Issue a notification such as a registration code based on the information provided ・ Send to the owner
3. The information written by the owner to the remote ID is sent to the capture device on the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.
4. Information inquiry / answer and management of registration system

The capture device is supposed to be managed and operated by the Civil Aviation Bureau, important facility managers, police officers, etc.

The remote ID is to attach to the drone's aircraft so that you can see "who" and "where" you are flying.

The enforcement date is scheduled to be around June of 2022 (Reiwa 4th year) next year.

Since the remote ID has a wide range of weight from 24g to 80g, there is a concern that it will not fly if it is mounted on an aircraft of over 100g. Therefore, it should be even lighter in the future. In addition, it is said that by setting the standard of remote ID by the country, it will be developed by each manufacturer.

However, if the user arbitrarily selects the one developed by each manufacturer, it will be externally attached to the existing aircraft, so there may be a problem that it fits or does not fit. Therefore, it is necessary to issue a remote ID according to the aircraft.

Future drones will already have a built-in remote ID.

Precautions before and after the revision of the law [Drone School Edition]

Here are some points to be aware of when recognizing drone schools due to the revision of the law.

A. Not possible. Since the revision of the law will be a completely different system, it will be necessary to re-register.

In addition, the current HP posting system on the Civil Aviation Bureau is not certified by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, but it is positioned as a proof that it is a model school. Therefore, no certification or registration has been done.

If the nuance states that it is accredited by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism or that it is a registration agency, please correct it immediately and complete the registration procedure in accordance with the revision of the law.

Editor's Note

We have introduced the information that has been clarified at the moment about the changes and details of various systems due to the revision of the Aviation Law.

There are many places where the procedures and rules regarding the use of drones are significantly different from the conventional ones, so be sure to keep this in mind. We will also keep you updated on the latest information.

In the next article, which will be the second part, I will explain the operation license.

Interview cooperation: G-Tech Co., Ltd.

A venture company that aims to develop services that contribute to the development of society as a whole, centered on the fusion of government and technology.

We operate "MIRANOVA", a comprehensive private lodging notification service that allows you to apply for complicated private lodging permit notifications in the cloud, and "DIPS Connect", a service that allows you to complete permission applications and performance reports required for drone flight on the cloud.

▼ DIPS Connect https://dips-connect.com/campaign/

▼ Contact us from here

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