FAA Part 107 Prep — Certification, RPIC, Registration & Core Part 107 Rules

LSN-007 — Regulations, Part 2: Preflight, Aircraft Condition, and Safety Event Reporting

Module: MOD-01 · Topic: TOPIC-001

Learning objectives

By the end of this lesson you can (OBJ-001, OBJ-004, OBJ-005, OBJ-012):

• State the §107.15 requirement that a small UAS be in a condition for safe operation, and explain when the RPIC must check it and when a flight must be discontinued.
• List the §107.49 preflight familiarization, inspection, and action items the RPIC must complete before every flight.
• Explain the §107.9 safety event reporting rule: what triggers a report, the deadline, and the property-damage threshold.
• Apply all three rules to realistic go/no-go and post-incident decisions.

Plain-English explanation

Last lesson (LSN-006) covered how you're allowed to behave as a pilot: no careless or reckless flying, no alcohol or drugs, show your certificate on request. This lesson covers the three rules that wrap around every single flight: before (preflight actions), during (keep the aircraft in a safe condition or land), and after (report certain safety events to the FAA).

1. The aircraft must be in a condition for safe operation (§107.15)

The rule is short and absolute: nobody may operate a small UAS unless it is in a condition for safe operation (§107.15). Three practical pieces:

1. Check before each flight. The RPIC must check the small UAS before each flight to determine it is in a condition for safe operation. Not once a day, not once per battery pack purchase — before each flight (§107.15(a)).
2. Discontinue if it stops being safe. If, during flight, the aircraft is no longer in a condition for safe operation, the RPIC must discontinue the flight (§107.15(b)). A cracked prop you notice mid-hover, an erratic motor, a battery cell dropping fast — land it.
3. It's the RPIC's call. This links straight back to §107.19 (LSN-004): the RPIC is the final authority, so the RPIC owns this decision.

2. Preflight familiarization, inspection, and actions (§107.49)

§107.49 is the FAA's "before you push the throttle" checklist. Before each flight the RPIC must:

• Assess the operating environment. That means local weather conditions, airspace and any flight restrictions, location of people and property on the ground, and other ground hazards — including radio-frequency interference risks (§107.49(a)(1)). (What the actual operating limits and VLOS rules are — visibility minimums, max altitude, and so on — is taught in MOD-03. Here, your job is to assess the environment against those rules before launch.)
• Brief everyone involved. Ensure all persons directly participating — the person manipulating the controls and any visual observer — know the operating conditions, emergency procedures, contingency procedures, roles and responsibilities, and potential hazards (§107.49(a)(2)).
• Ensure required documents and Remote ID are available. All links, documents, and equipment required for the operation must be available and functioning — including the aircraft's Remote ID capability (§107.49(a)(3)). (Remote ID itself is taught in MOD-02; here you just verify it's present and working as part of preflight.)
• Verify the control link works. Ensure all control links between the ground control station and the aircraft are functioning properly (§107.49(a)(4)).
• Verify sufficient power. Ensure there is enough available power for the small UAS to operate for the intended operational time (§107.49(a)(5)).
• Secure any attached object. Ensure any object attached to or carried by the aircraft is secure and does not adversely affect flight characteristics or controllability (§107.49(a)(6)).

Memory hook: Environment, Crew, Docs/RID, Link, Power, Payload.

3. Safety event reporting (§107.9)

§107.9 got a modernized name — it used to be called "Accident reporting" and now reads "Safety event reporting" (§107.9, amended Dec 9 2022). Older study material may still say "accident reporting"; the reporting duty is the same idea.

The RPIC must report to the FAA, no later than 10 calendar days after an operation, any operation of a small UAS involving at least:

• (a) Serious injury to any person, or any loss of consciousness, OR
• (b) Damage to any property other than the small unmanned aircraft, UNLESS one of these is true:
  • the cost to repair the property (including materials and labor) does not exceed $500, or
  • the fair market value of the property does not exceed $500 in the event of a total loss.

Two things students get wrong constantly:

• The drone itself doesn't count. Total your $4,000 drone into a tree with no other damage and nobody hurt? No §107.9 report required. The property-damage trigger is about property other than your aircraft.
• 10 CALENDAR days, not business days. Weekends and holidays count against you.

Also note the injury trigger is an or: serious injury OR any loss of consciousness. Someone briefly knocked out with no lasting harm still triggers a report.

Why this matters on the Part 107 exam

• The exam loves the §107.9 numbers: 10 calendar days and the $500 threshold. Distractors will offer "30 days," "business days," "NTSB immediately," and scenarios where only the drone was damaged.
• §107.49 shows up as "which of the following is a required preflight action?" questions — know the list, especially crew briefing, control link, and sufficient power for the intended operation time.
• §107.15 questions test the phrase "before each flight" and the duty to discontinue an unsafe flight.

Official rule / reference

• §107.15 Condition for safe operation — operate only if in a condition for safe operation; RPIC checks before each flight; discontinue if no longer safe.
• §107.49 Preflight familiarization, inspection, and actions for aircraft operation — assess environment; brief participants; ensure links/documents/equipment (incl. Remote ID) available and functioning; verify control links; verify sufficient power; secure attached objects.
• §107.9 Safety event reporting — report to the FAA within 10 calendar days: serious injury or any loss of consciousness; or property damage (other than the sUA) above the $500 repair-cost / fair-market-value threshold.
• FAA reference IDs: FAAREF-001, FAAREF-002, FAAREF-009, FAAREF-015, FAAREF-030.

Real-world drone example

You're shooting a roofing-inspection job. Preflight (§107.49): you check the weather and the airspace app, note a cell tower two blocks away as an RF risk, brief your visual observer on the plan and the lost-link procedure, confirm Remote ID is broadcasting, run the control-link check, and confirm the battery covers the planned 18-minute inspection with margin. During a battery swap you notice a hairline crack in one prop — §107.15 says the aircraft is no longer in a condition for safe operation, so you replace the prop before the next flight. On the last pass a gust drives the drone into the client's skylight: $1,400 in glass, drone destroyed, nobody hurt. The skylight is property other than your drone and exceeds $500, so §107.9 requires you to report the event to the FAA within 10 calendar days. The drone's own $2,000 loss is irrelevant to that trigger.

Common traps / misconceptions

Quick recap

• §107.15: safe condition or don't fly; check before each flight; discontinue if it becomes unsafe.
• §107.49 preflight: Environment, Crew briefing, Docs/Remote ID, Control link, Power, Payload security.
• §107.9 ("Safety event reporting"): report to the FAA within 10 calendar days for serious injury / any loss of consciousness, or >$500 damage to property other than the drone.
• Operating limits and VLOS rules you assess against → MOD-03. Remote ID details → MOD-02.