Canada: Advanced Operation Flight Review - Emergency Procedures

[KurybaStudios]

Borrowed quite a bit from this post: Emergency procedure
Flight checklist (Appendix A) - https://www.tc.gc.ca/en/services/aviation/publications/tp-15263.html

Question is specifically around:

The small RPAS pilot operating within visual line of sight must be able to:

• Describe emergency procedures that apply to your sRPAS;
• Describe the lost-link procedures that apply to your sRPAS;
• Describe the procedures to follow in the event of a fly-away, including who to contact.

I have modified/updated for more relevancy for my Mavic Mini/Air and am looking for comments on meeting the requirements for the Flight Review, the idea is to have this as a reference during the review:


Loss of Control/Flyaway

• Step to aid in Prevention:
  • Set Return to Home (RTH) altitude
  • Make sure RTH has been set
    • Will get a prompt on the App (need 4 bars on GPS)
    • Green spot will appear on map
  • Verify no compass interference
• If event occurs
  • Pilot
    • If control is not restored, activate Return to Home (RTH). Check whether the mode is functional and/or if the control of the drone has been regained
    • Turn off and on the controller and try to recover control of the drone
    • If safe to do so, attempt to power off the motors
    • If drone flyaway continues, note drone battery life, height, speed and heading
    • Inform the police via 911 and/or Air Traffic Control (ATC)
    • Maintain Visual Line of Sight (VLOS) with the drone for as long as possible
  • Crew
    • Clear/Warn any individuals in vicinity if possible
    • Retain VLOS with the drone for as long as possible
    • Await instruction from the pilot

Loss of Visual Contact with Drone

• Check if your crew has visual of the drone
• Consider increasing altitude to clear known obstacles
• Focus on the video stream and navigate drone home
• Use map/radar to manually fly drone home
• Engage Home lock and use pitch stick backwards to fly drone home
• Yaw drone so that "nose" is pointing in flight direction to help guide it home.
• Engage RTH

In case of loss of radio contact with Drone

• Focus on visual contact and track the drone to determine its location
• If possible, get others to help as spotters
• Try to realign antennas to regain contact
• Try relocating RC to regain contact (move to higher ground or closer to Drone)
• Wait for RTH to engage and drone to return
• If Drone does not return, use "Find my drone" function in Go app to try to locate it

In case of loss of visual and radio contact with drone

• Try to realign antennas to regain contact
• Try relocating RC to regain contact (move to higher ground or closer to Drone)
• Wait for RTH to engage and drone to return
• If drone does not return use "Find my drone" function in Go app to try to locate it

In case of loss of GPS/ac going into ATTI mode (Mavic Air)

• Keep visual contact with drone and fly home manually
• Focus on the video stream and navigate ac home
• Use map/radar to manually fly ac home

Recovery situation

• If Drone is "lost" in known location, make sure it is safe to attempt recovery.
• Consider getting assistance if location is deemed inaccessible or unsafe.

In case of injury

• Have a small medical kit available
• Know where the nearest medical facility is located

Others

Incident	Pilot Response	Crew Response	Follow Up
Pilot Incapacitation Pilot is unwell or unresponsive	If able, warn the crew of your status Check that the area is clear and active RTH	Follow the instructions of the pilot If the pilot is unable to, ensure the landing area is clear and activate the RTH Monitor the drone until it has landed and shut down before attending to the pilot	If required, inform the emergency services Follow the incident reporting tool
Public Entering Flight Area A person who is not under the control of the pilot enters the flight location.	If the individual is further than 30m from the landing site, the pilot should land immediately If the individual is within 30m of the landing site, the pilot should select an alternate site to safely land	Immediately notify the pilot of the member of the public in the flight area Inform the member of the public they’re in the flight area and request they remain in position to enable the pilot to safely land the drone If required, assist the pilot with locating a new landing area with the required separation distance. Clearly guide the pilot to this location	If required, inform the emergency services Follow the incident reporting tool

 

[Andy Mac 230]

Like it. I asked similar sort of questions There are lots of good posts on the site with similar ideas ...just need somebody to correlate and make not a definitive but a good hang your hat on checklist

 

[KimberleyGTA]

Hi there! Thank you for this excellent post and I appreciate you sharing your check list. Right now I am preparing for my in-person flight review (please cross your fingers for me!). I am preparing all of my check lists and I was curious if you had any suggestions for who to include on the Emergency Contact List? I really appreciate your input and look forward to hearing back from you. - Kimberley, Toronto

 

[RPA by Dave]

Hi there! Thank you for this excellent post and I appreciate you sharing your check list. Right now I am preparing for my in-person flight review (please cross your fingers for me!). I am preparing all of my check lists and I was curious if you had any suggestions for who to include on the Emergency Contact List? I really appreciate your input and look forward to hearing back from you. - Kimberley, Toronto

How did your Flight review go? I am practicing for mine in March. Any tips or tools you are willing to share? [email protected]

 

[MrHawkeye]

How did your Flight review go? I am practicing for mine in March. Any tips or tools you are willing to share? [email protected]

The flight review was quite easy compared to the advanced exam, the exam was definitely the hump.

My experience with the flight review (and a couple other coworkers that have used the same company were similar), started with a short (maybe half hour) informal chat quizzing me about how I'd prepare for an operation, how I'd carry out a survey, making sure I knew where I was allowed to fly, asking me about privacy rules, etc. Afterwards it was a short mock operation where he took me outside and had me carry out a flight to take photos for a customer (him) and observed my process. He made me aware of this when I booked the appointment so I knew what the operation was and had enough information to prepare a site survey.

I have heard that others in other parts of the country have been grilled harder. I just noticed you're also from Winnipeg! If you want to chat more about it toss me a PM.

 

[Birdog]

Hi there! Thank you for this excellent post and I appreciate you sharing your check list. Right now I am preparing for my in-person flight review (please cross your fingers for me!). I am preparing all of my check lists and I was curious if you had any suggestions for who to include on the Emergency Contact List? I really appreciate your input and look forward to hearing back from you. - Kimberley, Toronto

Hey Kim. Google Don Drones On. He's a canadian drone pilot and wrote an APP for android/iphone with Transport Canada. It's called Drone PIlot Canada. It has all the checklists....a map of canadian fly / no fly zones. It's easy to learn to use and Don makes many videos explaining flying drones in Canada and the work being done for drone pilots between himself and Transport Canada. All his videos are free. The app contains all the checklists you need for flying as an advanced pilot and for the flight review. You will still need your own emergency procedures for your specific drone according to the manufacturer user manual.

Also, Free to join is the Drone Pilot Association of Canada. Lots of helpful/informative information about being a drone pilot in Canada.
And remember Kim.....May the force be with you!.....Gravity is our ally.