Mission Safety & Incident Response SOP

Acknowledgment. Pilots acknowledge this SOP; they do not sign it as a contract. It is guidance that supplements your duties as remote pilot in command under FAA rules, authorizations, waivers, manufacturer procedures and emergency instructions. Your binding obligations, including the duty to report incidents, are in your Pilot Independent Contractor Agreement. The SOP is always available from the Safety SOP link in the pilot dashboard. Safety takes priority over capture, the customer's schedule and Mission completion.

1. Go / no-go

Before every flight, experienced pilots confirm certificate and recency, aircraft registration and Remote ID, any required airspace authorization, acceptable weather, a serviceable aircraft, suitable takeoff, landing and emergency areas, and an assessment of people, vehicles, obstacles, wires, animals, cranes and radio interference. They also confirm with the site contact that access and consent are unchanged, and that the Mission boundary and any excluded parcels or common areas are clear.

Send a Drone does not check airspace or certify that a location can be flown. Before every flight, complete the preflight confirmation in the app (Pilot Deliverable & Conduct Standards, section 4); the app will not start the flight without it. If conditions change materially before you fly, withdraw it and confirm again.

Do not launch, or stop the flight, if continuing would be unlawful or you judge that conditions create unacceptable risk. Common reasons include weather, a temporary flight restriction or other airspace restriction, unsafe property conditions (people, vehicles, hazards or an access dispute), a consent objection on site, and equipment problems.

2. Reporting a no-go

Report every no-go in the app with "Report no-go" and the reason (weather, airspace restriction, TFR, FAA authorization not obtained, PIC safety decision, consent objection, site access problem or other safety reason). The Mission is rescheduled or reviewed, and the customer is not penalized for a safety stop. A site access problem is decided by Send a Drone. Never fly after reporting a no-go without a new, safe plan and a new preflight confirmation. If you know before starting travel that you cannot fly an accepted Mission, withdraw in the app instead.

3. Incidents that must be reported

Collision, crash, flyaway or loss of control; injury or loss of consciousness; property damage; near collision with a crewed aircraft; unexpected entry into restricted or controlled airspace, or any deviation from an authorization; flight over a restricted facility without the required consent; contact with law enforcement or a regulator; battery fire; a privacy, consent or trespass complaint, or a consent objection on site; a concern that you are at, or captured, the wrong property or outside the Mission boundary; a lost or stolen device or Mission data; a significant confrontation; and any other event likely to create a claim, a regulatory report or a safety concern.

4. Immediate response

Protect life first and call emergency services when appropriate. Secure the aircraft when it is safe to do so. After a serious incident, do not disturb evidence except to protect safety. Preserve logs, photographs, authorizations, weather information, messages and Mission data. Do not admit liability or speculate about the cause to customers, bystanders or media. Give truthful facts to authorities as required. Notify your insurer when your policy requires it.

5. Notifying Send a Drone

If someone is hurt or property is being damaged, call 911 first; Send a Drone is not an emergency service. Then notify Send a Drone as soon as practicable, and within 24 hours, by email to support@sendadrone.us with the subject line "Incident — [Mission ID]". Send a Drone acknowledges incident reports within 2 business days. The mailbox is not watched around the clock, so never rely on it for anything urgent.

Include: the Mission number; date and time; your name and the aircraft; the location; the incident category; a factual description; known injuries or damage; any emergency, law-enforcement or regulatory contact; whether your insurer was notified; the status of any FAA report; the evidence you preserved; and any communication with the customer, site contact or occupants.

6. FAA reports

You decide on, and complete, any report the FAA requires of the remote pilot in command. Notifying Send a Drone does not replace that duty.

7. Privacy and data incidents

If Mission data may have been lost or disclosed, or a device holding Mission data is compromised, stop further disclosure, preserve the facts, notify Send a Drone as in section 5, and follow Send a Drone's containment instructions. If someone raises a privacy or consent concern on site, stop capturing that subject, stay courteous, report it, and do not continue the affected part of the Mission until Send a Drone confirms. Send a Drone handles any resulting imagery request under its Privacy Policy.

8. After an incident

After a significant operational incident, Send a Drone may suspend a Pilot, an aircraft or a type of Mission pending review under the Pilot Independent Contractor Agreement, and keeps a record of each reported incident and its follow-up.