Waivers and Authorizations

Waivers and Authorizations
Name
Institutional Affiliation
Waivers
Waivers and authorizations are familiar terms in aviation; they are synonymous, and thus, many are bound to confuse them. However, they refer to different situations. According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) (2021), a waiver will refer to an official document they issue that “approves certain operations of aircraft outside the limitations of a regulation.” Operational waivers are primarily issued concerning requests to flying specific drone operations that are prohibited under part 107. In essence, the issuance of a waiver is a greenlight to deviate from established provisions under part 107, but it is predicated on assurances on safely flying using the alternative methods. For instance, a waiver is not needed in flying a drone concerning 107 rules, but then one will need this documentation if their activities are contrary to these rules.
Several peculiar examples to this end exist. One will need a waiver if they intend to fly an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) over 100 miles per hour ground speed, over 400 feet above ground level; with less than three statute miles of visibility or within 500 feet vertically or 2000 feet horizontally from clouds. Also, since flying many UAS is banned simultaneously, they could seek a waiver to permit them to do otherwise. In the request to receive a waiver, the person has to describe the proposed operation and, more importantly, outline the conceivable operations risks and strategies they have orchestrated to mitigate against those perils (FAA, 2021). Any flying object is a major threat to humanity, and more so, considering that planes are in the same space and thus, the lives of many are at stake. These regulations and procedural guidelines come in handy. From an overall viewpoint, a person operating a UAS has to adhere to relatively ordinary operational rules such as not being under the influence of drugs or alcohol, endangering other people’s lives (hazardous operation), be in a stable mental and physical condition, and refrain from carrying hazardous material.
On the other hand, there is authorization, which is quite predominant in these circles. The FAA (2018) regards an airspace authorization as “the mechanism by which an operator may seek Air Traffic Control (ATC) approval to operate in controlled airspace.” Even though authorizations are much stricter concerning geography, a person requesting this documentation can ...