Part 107 Operations Over People: Categories 1

The FAA’s operations over people rule, published in January 2021 and effective April 21, 2021, permits routine flights over people and moving vehicles under certain conditions (FAA operations over people overview). The conditions are in 14 CFR 107.39 and Subpart D of Part 107.

The basic rule: § 107.39

You may not fly a small unmanned aircraft over a human being unless at least one of these is true:

The person is directly participating in the operation.
The person is under a covered structure or inside a stationary vehicle that can provide reasonable protection from a falling small unmanned aircraft.
The operation meets one of the four categories in Subpart D.

Direct participants include the remote pilot in command, another person manipulating the controls, a visual observer, or crewmembers necessary for the safety of the operation (AC 107-2A, para. 8.3). Part 107 sets no specific stand-off distance from people (AC 107-2A, para. 8.3.1), and if the aircraft does not fly directly over a person, the operation complies with § 107.39 (FAA UAS FAQ).

The four categories

Category 1

The aircraft weighs 0.55 pounds or less on takeoff and throughout the operation, including everything on board or attached, and has no exposed rotating parts that would lacerate human skin on impact (14 CFR 107.110). The AC gives the weight as 0.55 pounds (250 grams) (AC 107-2A, para. 8.3.4).
There are no applicant requirements and no label is required; the remote pilot is responsible for confirming the weight and the absence of exposed rotating parts (AC 107-2A, paras. 8.3.4.1, 8.3.4.2, 8.11.1).

Category 2

The aircraft is designed, produced or modified so that it will not cause injury as severe as or worse than a transfer of 11 foot-pounds of kinetic energy from a rigid object, has no lacerating exposed rotating parts and has no safety defects (14 CFR 107.120).
It must be listed on an FAA-accepted declaration of compliance and labeled as eligible for Category 2 operations (14 CFR 107.115).

Category 3

The same requirements with a 25 foot-pound threshold, plus a declaration of compliance and a Category 3 label (14 CFR 107.125; 14 CFR 107.130).
No flight over open-air assemblies of people at all.
Flight over people only within or over a closed- or restricted-access site where everyone inside is on notice that a small unmanned aircraft may fly over them, or without sustained flight over anyone who is not directly participating or protected under a covered structure or in a stationary vehicle (14 CFR 107.125).

Category 4

The aircraft has an airworthiness certificate issued under part 21 and is operated within the operating limitations of its approved Flight Manual or as otherwise specified by the FAA; those limitations must not prohibit operations over people (14 CFR 107.140).
Maintenance, inspections and records must meet § 107.140(c). The owner is responsible, unless the owner has an agreement with an operator to meet those requirements, in which case the operator is.

Declarations of compliance

A declaration of compliance (DOC) is a record submitted to the FAA that certifies the aircraft conforms to the Category 2 or Category 3 requirements (14 CFR 107.3).
The person who designs, produces or modifies the aircraft submits it, using an FAA-accepted means of compliance, through the FAA’s website at uasdoc.faa.gov (AC 107-2A, para. 8.9). A means of compliance consists of test, analysis or inspection (14 CFR 107.155).
The DOC lists the applicant, the make and model, the serial numbers covered and the means of compliance used (14 CFR 107.160).
As remote pilot, you check that the aircraft is listed on an FAA-accepted DOC and carries the correct label (AC 107-2A, paras. 8.3.5.1, 8.3.6.1). If a Category 2 or 3 label is damaged, destroyed or missing, you must relabel the aircraft in English before operating over people (14 CFR 107.135).
No one may operate an aircraft identified on a DOC that the FAA has rescinded, while it remains rescinded (14 CFR 107.160).
Remote ID has its own, separate declaration of compliance, submitted by the producer of a standard Remote ID aircraft or broadcast module (14 CFR 89.1).

Over moving vehicles

14 CFR 107.145 adds conditions for flying over people inside moving vehicles:

Categories 1, 2 and 3: throughout the operation, stay within or over a closed- or restricted-access site where everyone inside a moving vehicle is on notice, or do not maintain sustained flight over moving vehicles.
Category 4: the aircraft must have a part 21 airworthiness certificate and be operated within operating limitations that do not prohibit operations over people inside moving vehicles.

Do not confuse this with flying from a moving vehicle. Under § 107.25 you may not operate from a moving aircraft, and from a moving land or water-borne vehicle only over a sparsely populated area and when the aircraft is not transporting another person’s property for compensation or hire (14 CFR 107.25). § 107.25 can be waived, but not to allow carrying another person’s property for compensation or hire (14 CFR 107.205).

Open-air assemblies and Remote ID

Under Categories 1, 2 and 4, sustained flight over an open-air assembly is allowed only if the operation meets § 89.110 (a standard Remote ID aircraft) or § 89.115(a) (a Remote ID broadcast module) (14 CFR 107.110; 107.115; 107.140). Flying without Remote ID inside an FAA-recognized identification area, the option in § 89.115(b), is not on that list.
Category 3 may not fly over open-air assemblies at all (14 CFR 107.125).
Sustained flight includes hovering above the heads of people in an open-air assembly, flying back and forth over it, or circling so that the aircraft remains above part of it. A brief, one-time transit over part of the gathering, incidental to a point-to-point flight unrelated to the assembly, is not sustained flight (FAA operations over people overview).
Open-air assembly is not defined by regulation; the FAA decides case by case. It generally means dense gatherings of people in the open, such as sporting events, concerts, parades, protests, political rallies, community festivals, or parks and beaches during certain events. The remote pilot must assess this before flying (AC 107-2A, para. 8.3.6.4).

Your responsibilities as remote pilot

Before a flight over people under Subpart D, ensure the aircraft meets § 107.110, § 107.120(a), § 107.130(a) or § 107.140, as applicable (14 CFR 107.49).
Determine that you are flying in the right category for the operation, and verify the label and the DOC listing (AC 107-2A, para. 8.13).
The categories and their restrictions do not change at night (AC 107-2A, para. 8.14); see Part 107 night operations.
Flight over people (§ 107.39) and over moving vehicles (§ 107.145) are on the list of rules that can be waived (14 CFR 107.205).

Test yourself with the regulations questions, which cover operations over people, or take a timed mock exam.