Assessing and Estimating Risk of Operating Unmanned Aerial Systems in Populated Areas

Abstract

In order to operate in the national airspace, an aircraft system must have documentation and analysis to show that it can operate at a satisfactory level of safety. For traditional manned aircraft systems, this is equivalent to operating a reliable system. However with Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), a relatively unreliable system can safely be operated provided that the risk to bystanders on the ground is sufficiently low. This paper presents a set of design tools and methodologies which can be used to assess the risk associated with operating an UAS in a potentially populated area. The intended use of the tool is discussed and a risk assessment is provided for an existing UAS.