COURT CHARGE AND WARNINGS, SAFETY ACTIONS
CAAS said that it takes “a serious view” of the contraventions.
H3 Dynamics will be charged in court under the Air Navigation Act for operating the UA in the manner that it ought reasonably to know could endanger the life or property of another person.
If found guilty, the company could face a fine of up to S$100,000 (US$76,000).
The person who operated the test flights has been issued a 12-month conditional warning for operating the drone without a UA pilot licence.
Another UA pilot involved in the flight has also received a 12-month conditional warning for failing to be in active use of the CFMS app during the UA operation.
After the incident, CAAS conducted two on-site audits on H3 Dynamics in August and September respectively and issued four corrective action notices to the company, which required it to review its operational control and ensure compliance with the operations manual approved by CAAS.
“H3 Dynamics has completed the corrective actions,” CAAS said.
“These included updating the training requirements for their UA pilots and strengthening their safety procedures and processes, such as putting in place safeguards to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements.”
CAAS said that it “has assessed H3 Dynamics’ corrective actions and is satisfied that H3 Dynamics is able to comply with the regulatory requirements to conduct a reduced scope of UA activities”.
Effective from Friday, the suspension imposed on H3 Dynamics will be lifted by CAAS, although the scope of its operator permit will be limited to the conduct of aerial photography and videography only.
“H3 Dynamics will no longer be allowed to conduct UA operations for the purpose of flight test and flight demonstration.”
The company will also be subjected to safety audits of increased frequency after it resumes UA operations, said CAAS.
As no safety issues were found with the base model of the Hexadrone TUNDRA 2, its suspension has also been lifted.
On Jul 23, CAAS had initiated an industry-wide safety review and required all UA operator permit holders to review their safety procedures and processes
On Friday, CAAS updated that all UA operator permit holders have completed their safety reviews.
The authority has enhanced its guidance materials “to provide greater clarity on flight test operations and UA modifications”. Safety oversight surveillance on UA operator permit holders who perform UA modifications and flight testing through onsite audits has also been improved.
