FAA Part 107 Prep — Certification, RPIC, Registration & Core Part 107 Rules
1. Learning Objectives
By the end of this lesson you will be able to:
- Explain what it means to be the Remote Pilot in Command (RPIC) of a small UAS operation.
- State when an RPIC must be designated for a flight (§107.19(a)).
- Describe the RPIC's role as the person "directly responsible for and the final authority as to the operation" (§107.19(b)).
- Apply the RPIC's duties in real scenarios: preventing undue hazard on loss of control, ensuring regulatory compliance, and maintaining the ability to direct the aircraft (§107.19(c)-(e)).
- Recognize the classic exam traps: who the responsibility does NOT transfer to (visual observer, client, employer, or the drone's automation).
2. Plain-English Explanation
Every Part 107 flight has exactly one person who owns it: the Remote Pilot in Command, or RPIC. Think of the RPIC as the captain of the operation. Other people can be involved — a visual observer scanning the sky, a camera operator, a client directing the shots, even a trainee holding the sticks — but when it comes to safety and legality, one person is on the hook, and that person is the RPIC.
Here is the core of the rule (§107.19), in plain English:
- Somebody must be designated as RPIC before or during each flight (§107.19(a)). You cannot fly a Part 107 operation with "nobody in charge," and you cannot figure out who was in charge after the fact. The designation has to happen before or during the flight, not afterward.
- The RPIC is directly responsible for, and the final authority over, the operation (§107.19(b)). "Directly responsible" means the buck stops with the RPIC — for the safety of the flight and for every rule that applies to it. "Final authority" means the RPIC's decision wins. If the RPIC says the flight is off, the flight is off, no matter what the client, the boss, or anyone else wants.
- The RPIC must ensure the aircraft poses no undue hazard to other people, other aircraft, or property if control is lost for any reason (§107.19(c)). Lost link, flyaway, dead battery, GPS glitch — the RPIC plans so that even a failure does not endanger anyone. This is why smart pilots think about what is under and around the flight path before they take off.
- The RPIC must ensure the operation complies with all applicable regulations (§107.19(d)). Not just Part 107 — all applicable regulations of the chapter. Compliance is an RPIC duty, not something you can delegate to a checklist app or assume the client handled.
- The RPIC must have the ability to direct the small unmanned aircraft to ensure compliance (§107.19(e)). You must actually be able to make the aircraft do what the rules require. If your drone is executing an automated mission, you still need the ability to intervene and direct it.
Two closely related duties from other sections round out the RPIC picture:
- The RPIC performs the preflight check (§107.49). Assessing the operating environment, briefing the crew, checking links and power — that is RPIC work before every flight. (The full preflight list is taught in Regulations, Part 2: Preflight, Aircraft Condition, and Safety Event Reporting; here, just know it is the RPIC's job.)
- Supervising a non-certificated pilot (§107.12). A person without a remote pilot certificate may manipulate the controls only under the direct supervision of an RPIC who can immediately take direct control of the aircraft. "Immediately" is the key word — standing across the field or watching a video feed from the office does not cut it.
3. Why This Matters on the Part 107 Exam
The FAA loves testing whether you understand that RPIC responsibility is absolute and non-transferable. Expect questions built around scenarios where someone else — a client, an employer, a visual observer, or the drone's own software — seems like they might share or absorb responsibility. They do not. The correct answer almost always points back to the RPIC.
Watch for the exact phrase "directly responsible for and the final authority as to the operation" (§107.19(b)) — the exam frequently quotes or paraphrases this language, and distractors will swap in weaker words like "shared responsibility" or "advisory authority."
Also expect questions about the loss-of-control duty: the RPIC must ensure no undue hazard to people, aircraft, or property if control of the aircraft is lost for any reason (§107.19(c)). Distractors often limit this to "only people" or "only during autonomous flight" — the rule covers any loss of control, any reason.
4. Official Rule / Reference
14 CFR §107.19 — Remote pilot in command (FAAREF-007):
- (a) A remote pilot in command must be designated before or during the flight of the small unmanned aircraft.
- (b) The remote pilot in command is directly responsible for and is the final authority as to the operation of the small unmanned aircraft system.
- (c) The remote pilot in command must ensure that the small unmanned aircraft will pose no undue hazard to other people, other aircraft, or other property in the event of a loss of control of the small unmanned aircraft for any reason.
- (d) The remote pilot in command must ensure that the small UAS operation complies with all applicable regulations of this chapter.
- (e) The remote pilot in command must have the ability to direct the small unmanned aircraft to ensure compliance with the applicable provisions of this chapter.
Related: §107.49 (preflight familiarization, inspection, and actions — performed by the RPIC); §107.12 (a non-certificated person may manipulate the controls only under the direct supervision of an RPIC who can immediately take direct control).
5. Real-World Drone Example
You are the RPIC on a paid roof-inspection job. The client meets you on site and says, "We are behind schedule — just launch, the wind will die down." You check conditions and judge the gusts unsafe for flying near the building. As RPIC, you are the final authority (§107.19(b)): you decline the flight, and no client pressure changes that. The client is not responsible for the operation — you are — so "the client told me to" is never a defense.
Later, the wind calms and you plan the flight. You notice the return-to-home path would cross a busy sidewalk if the control link dropped. Because you must ensure no undue hazard in a loss-of-control event (§107.19(c)), you reposition your launch point and set the RTH altitude and route so a failsafe would not carry the aircraft over the crowd. You run the preflight check (§107.49), brief your visual observer, and fly. Mid-job, your new hire — not yet certificated — asks to try the controls. That is legal only if you directly supervise and can immediately take direct control (§107.12), so you stand next to them, hand on the ready-to-take-over position, the entire time.
6. Common Traps / Misconceptions
- "The visual observer shares responsibility for the flight." No. A VO helps the RPIC see and avoid, but responsibility and final authority stay with the RPIC (§107.19(b)).
- "My employer/client is responsible because it is their job and their drone." No. The RPIC is directly responsible for the operation regardless of who owns the aircraft or who is paying (§107.19(b)).
- "The drone was in autonomous mode, so the software was in control." No. Automation never becomes the responsible party. The RPIC must retain the ability to direct the aircraft to ensure compliance (§107.19(e)) and remains fully responsible for whatever the automation does.
- "An RPIC can be assigned after the flight if something goes wrong." No. The RPIC must be designated before or during the flight (§107.19(a)) — never retroactively.
- "The RPIC has to fly if the boss says so." No. Final authority includes the authority to say no. The RPIC can decline or stop any flight they judge unsafe (§107.19(b)).
- "A non-certificated person can fly as long as an RPIC is somewhere on site." Not enough. The RPIC must directly supervise and be able to immediately take direct control (§107.12).
- "The loss-of-control duty only covers people on the ground." It covers other people, other aircraft, and other property, for a loss of control from any reason (§107.19(c)).
7. Quick Recap
- One RPIC per operation, designated before or during the flight (§107.19(a)).
- The RPIC is directly responsible for and the final authority as to the operation (§107.19(b)) — memorize that phrase.
- Plan so a loss of control from any reason poses no undue hazard to people, aircraft, or property (§107.19(c)).
- The RPIC ensures compliance with all applicable regulations (§107.19(d)) and must retain the ability to direct the aircraft (§107.19(e)).
- The RPIC performs the preflight check (§107.49) and must directly supervise any non-certificated person on the controls, ready to immediately take direct control (§107.12).
- Responsibility never transfers — not to a VO, a client, an employer, or the autopilot.