Here at Toledo Aerial Media, we continually strive to acquire the most advanced technology and expand our services to yield the best possible product and better serve our valued clients. We’re thrilled to report that we recently took a huge leap forward in our operational capabilities, having received our FAA Certificate of Waiver for Operation Over Human Beings (14 CFR § 107.39). In layman’s terms, we’re now legally cleared to operate drones directly over people.

This waiver significantly broadens our creative horizons, allowing us to operate directly overhead as we cover events or locations such as outdoor concerts, sporting events, marathons, construction sites, and anywhere else large groups of people are congregated. Previously, we were legally permitted to operate only at the perimeter of such activities and in very isolated areas to ensure our drones weren’t flying over people.

Toledo Aerial Media legal to fly drone over people — A Rare Accomplishment In Good Company

It’s difficult to convey the significance of this achievement, but suffice it to say that this waiver is exceedingly rare in our industry—which is, perhaps, not surprising considering the security footing our nation has been on for the last few decades and the obvious hazards that are present when drones are flown over people by amateur pilots or even professionals with inadequate training, experience, and technology.
To help put the rarity of this waiver in perspective, consider that upon earning it, TAM was one of only 99 organizations and companies to have done so. In comparison, the FAA’s Daylight Operation waiver, which allows operators to fly at night (14 CFR § 107.29, which we also hold), has been approved for over 3,600 applicants. Other organizations in this very small fraternity are CNN, Fox, UPS, Verizon Media, FLIR, and Stanford University.

Safety and Technology Coming Together To Make it Happen

Not only is this waiver seldom granted, but acquiring it is anything but easy. One of the many hurdles we had to clear was outfitting our drones with a special parachute system developed by ParaZero in close coordination with the FAA to ensure its compliance with ASTM F3322-18 standards. This system is designed to deploy effectively and reliably and bring the drone back to earth at a safe rate of descent in all failure scenarios.

The system automatically triggers the parachute to deploy, for example, in the event of power loss or if the parachute’s internal sensors detect a problem, such as the drone becoming unstable, some sort of impact, or other equipment failure. There are also additional operating procedures we must follow under this waiver in order to stay in compliance, such as expanding our flight crew to include additional members and utilizing a secondary/backup manual remote trigger for the parachute system.

We should also emphasize that compliance comes at a significant cost. Implementing the parachute system and all the additional required peripherals and technology is actually more expensive than the drone itself. Nonetheless, we consider this a price well worth paying for the assured safety of our clients and anyone else in the vicinity of our operations—and, of course, for the creative doors this waiver opens to us.

So, the next time you’re enjoying a major outdoor event, look up. You just might spot one of our drones capturing the event from overhead. And if you do, you can rest assured it’s being operated by a highly skilled remote pilot, protected by the most advanced safety features, and in full legal compliance with all the latest FAA regulations and guidelines.

Do you have an event or location that could benefit from safe, legal, and fully-insured flight over people? Give us a call or drop a line to talk about the possibilities.