CAASL - January 2017
CAASL - January 2017
SLCAIS : 053
Pursuant to Sec.120 of the Civil Aviation Act No.14 of 2010 which is hereinafter referred to as the
CA Act, Director General of Civil Aviation has the power to issue, whenever he considers it
necessary or appropriate to do so, such Implementing Standards for the purpose of giving effect
to any provision in the CA Act, Regulations or Rules made thereunder including the Articles of the
Convention on International Civil Aviation specified in the Schedule to the CA Act.
Accordingly I, being the Director General of Civil Aviation do hereby issue the Implementing
Standards as mentioned in the Attachment hereto (Ref: CA-IS-2017-GEN-001-Att.01, titled
Requirements applicable for Operation of Pilotless Aircraft, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
/Remotely Piloted Aircraft/Drones etc.) that shall be complied with when operating pilotless aircraft
under the provision of Section 80 of the CA Act, Article 8 of its Schedule or the applicable
International Standards and Recommended Practices specified in Appendix 4 of Annex 2 to the
Convention.
This Implementing Standard (IS) which supersedes IS-053 dated 25th February 2016 shall come in to
force with immediate effect and remain in force until further notice.
Attention is also drawn to Section 103 of the CA Act, which states inter alia that failure to comply
with Implementing Standard is an offence.
H.M.C. Nimalsiri
Director General of Civil Aviation and
Chief Executive Officer
First Edition
Rev: 02
Requirements for Operation of Pilotless Aircraft (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles/Remotely Piloted Aircraft/Drones)
Attachment No. CA-IS-2017-GEN-001-Att.01
B. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Director General of Civil Aviation may approve a person or
an organization applying to him directly for operation of a pilotless aircraft.
C. A person or organization intending to receive status of Approved Person or Approved
Organization for the purposes of this Implementing Standard may apply to Director General
of Civil Aviation in the prescribed form, giving his/her qualifications and experience in the
construction, operation, maintenance and training of pilots of pilotless aircraft
3. MASS CATEGORIES OF PILOTLESS AIRCRAFT
For the purpose of this Implementing Standard, a pilotless aircraft are grouped into four categories
as follows based on mass.
Mass
25 kg or above
Above 1 kg but below 25 kg
A
B
C
D
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First Edition
Rev: 02
Date: 10thJanuary 2017
Requirements for Operation of Pilotless Aircraft (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles/Remotely Piloted Aircraft/Drones)
Attachment No. CA-IS-2017-GEN-001-Att.01
4. LIMITATIONS ON OPERATIONS
A. CATEGORY - A
A pilotless aircraft of C a t e g o r y A shall not be operated u n l e s s:
(i) explicit approval from Director General of Civil Aviation has been obtained, and,
(ii) the published requirements on Personnel Licensing, Aircraft Operations and
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First Edition
Rev: 02
Date: 10thJanuary 2017
Requirements for Operation of Pilotless Aircraft (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles/Remotely Piloted Aircraft/Drones)
Attachment No. CA-IS-2017-GEN-001-Att.01
(i) Pilotless aircraft is operated in an approved aerodrome with the written approval of the
aircraft
(iii) Product serial numbers of accessory units that may be provided with the pilotless aircraft
Requirements for Operation of Pilotless Aircraft (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles/Remotely Piloted Aircraft/Drones)
Attachment No. CA-IS-2017-GEN-001-Att.01
E. A pilotless aircraft of Category-D which is not fitted with any data capturing or retrieval
tools such as camera, body-sensing and self-priming which has a potential of posing a safety
or security threat to person or property or infringing the rights of privacy of a person shall be
exempted from the requirement for registration.
F. Except for a Temporary Certificate which may be issued for a shorter period depending on
the circumstances, a Pilotless aircraft Registration Certificate will be valid for a period of
two (02) years and renewable thereafter.
G. The Owner of pilotless aircraft shall ensure that the person remotely operating the pilotless
aircraft will at all the time be in possession of the Registration Certificate when the pilotless
aircraft is engaged in any kind of operation.
H. In an event that the Registered Owner of pilotless aircraft transfers ownership to another
person, the new owner shall register the Change of Ownership with CAASL prior to any
operation. Transferor shall also inform CAASL that he/she had transferred the ownership of
the particular unit furnishing the details of the Transferee.
I. Any pilotless aircraft of mass Category-A, B or C, as well as Category-D fitted with any
data capturing or retrieval tools such as camera, body-sensing and self-priming which has a
potential of posing a safety or security threat to person or property or infringing the rights of
privacy of a person, shall be produced for inspection by CAASL or a designated
person/organization, if so required by the CAASL as a pre-requisite for its registration with
CAASL.
J. De-registration: The owner shall inform the Director General of Civil Aviation if/when the
registered pilotless aircraft becomes permanently unserviceable, or ceases operations within
Sri Lanka.
8. REGISTRATION OF PERSONS WHO OPERATE PILOTLESS AIRCRAFT
A. A person who operates or intending to operate a pilotless aircraft of mass Category A, B or C
shall be registered at CAASL after successful completion of a Competency Check conducted
by the CAASL or any other designated person or organization and obtain a Remote Pilot
Authorization Certificate on payment of a prescribed fee.
B. The remote pilot of a pilotless aircraft of mass Category A, B or C shall be over 18 years of
age unless otherwise authorized by the Director General of Civil Aviation in writing.
C. The remote pilot of a pilotless aircraft of mass Category A, B or C shall renew his/her
authorization Certificate once in two (02) years on payment of the prescribed fee to CAASL
unless the cessation of operations is notified to CAASL.
D. Any remote pilot of a pilotless aircraft other than a citizen of Sri Lanka will only be entitled
to a Temporary Registration with CAASL with a limited period of validity.
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First Edition
Rev: 02
Date: 10thJanuary 2017
Requirements for Operation of Pilotless Aircraft (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles/Remotely Piloted Aircraft/Drones)
Attachment No. CA-IS-2017-GEN-001-Att.01
9. IDENTIFCATION STAMP
A. No pilotless aircraft in the mass Category A, B or C shall be operated in any part of
Sri Lanka, unless it carries an Identification Stamp issued by the Director General of Civil
Aviation or a person or organization duly authorized by him.
B. An identification stamp on a pilotless aircraft shall indicate its Registration
Number, owners national identity card number and his/her emergency contact numbers.
10. OPERATION OF FOR COMMERCIAL PURPOSES
Pilotless aircraft of any mass category shall not be operated for hire or reward, unless special
approval is obtained from the Director General of Civil Aviation in writing after payment of
the specified fee on case-by-case basis.
Requirements for Operation of Pilotless Aircraft (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles/Remotely Piloted Aircraft/Drones)
Attachment No. CA-IS-2017-GEN-001-Att.01
F. Pilotless aircraft shall not be operated under the conditions of gusty winds, rain, thunder,
lightning or any other adverse weather conditions, or when visibility is reduced below 5 km.
G. The person who remotely operate pilotless aircraft shall not engage in operating multiple
pilotless aircraft simultaneously at any given time
H. Pilotless aircraft shall not be operated from a moving vehicle or from a moving platform
While abiding by these regulations on pilotless aircraft operations, person who remotely
operates pilotless aircraft shall comply with all other applicable public laws that govern such
operations.
Requirements for Operation of Pilotless Aircraft (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles/Remotely Piloted Aircraft/Drones)
Attachment No. CA-IS-2017-GEN-001-Att.01
b) in the case of a free flight model aircraft, the aircraft is launched downwind of an
the relevant ATC unit and the Director General of Civil Aviation; and,
(iii) any aerodrome unless the person remotely operating pilotless aircraft has obtained prior
(ii)
(v)
(vi)
Requirements for Operation of Pilotless Aircraft (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles/Remotely Piloted Aircraft/Drones)
Attachment No. CA-IS-2017-GEN-001-Att.01
pilotless aircraft,
(ii) the location of the proposed operation,
(iii) the date, time and duration of the proposed operation,
(iv) the maximum height above ground level proposed for the aircraft UAS operation.
18. RIGHT OF WAY
A. A person remotely operating pilotless aircraft must ensure t h a t t h e p i l o t l e s s a i r c r a f t
gives way to, and remains clear of, all manned aircraft and on the ground and in flight.
B. A p e r s o n w h o o p e r a t e s a free flight model aircraft, before launching the aircraft
must ensure that during the operation the aircraft will remain clear of all manned aircraft
on the ground and in flight.
C. The person remotely operating a pilotless aircraft must ensure that the pilotless aircraft
gives way to and remains clear of all moving objects on earth or water surface
D. The person remotely operating a pilotless aircraft must ensure that pilotless aircraft
remains well clear of persons, animals, birds or property.
19. DROPPING OF OBJECTS OR DISPLAY OF BANNERS
Nothing shall be dropped nor shall any banner be displayed on a pilotless aircraft in
flight without approval from the Director General of Civil Aviation.
20. TOWING
Nothing shall be towed from a pilotless aircraft in flight without specific approval
from the Director General of Civil Aviation.
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Rev: 02
Date: 10thJanuary 2017
Requirements for Operation of Pilotless Aircraft (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles/Remotely Piloted Aircraft/Drones)
Attachment No. CA-IS-2017-GEN-001-Att.01
over any area in which the persons view of the surrounding airspace in which the
aircraft will operate is obstructed; or
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First Edition
Rev: 02
Date: 10thJanuary 2017
Requirements for Operation of Pilotless Aircraft (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles/Remotely Piloted Aircraft/Drones)
Attachment No. CA-IS-2017-GEN-001-Att.01
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First Edition
Rev: 02
Date: 10thJanuary 2017
Requirements for Operation of Pilotless Aircraft (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles/Remotely Piloted Aircraft/Drones)
Attachment No. CA-IS-2017-GEN-001-Att.01
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Rev: 02
Date: 10thJanuary 2017