April 20, 2015 

U.S. Department of Transportation Docket 

Management System 

1200 New J ersey Ave., SE Washington, DC 20590 

Re: Exemption Request Section 333 of the FAA Reform Act and Part 11 of the Federal Aviation 

Regulations from 14 CFR 61.113 (a) & (b); 91.103(b); 91.119; 91.121; 

91.151(a); 91.405 (a); 91.407(a) (1); 91.409 (a) (2); 91.417 (a) & (b). 

Dear Sir or Madam: 

Pursuant to Section 333 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (the Reform Act) 

and 14 C.F.R. Part 11, Dyno Nobel Louisiana Ammonia LLC, an explosive manufacture, hereby 

applies for an exemption from the listed Federal Aviation Regulations ("FARs") to allow 

commercial operation of its Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems ("sUAS") for aerial imaging for 

safety and monitoring of secured and controlled manufacturing site, so long as such operations are 

conducted within and under the conditions outlined herein or as may be established by the FAA as 

required by Section 333· 

As detailed in this document, the requested exemption would permit the operation of sUAS 

under controlled conditions in airspace that is 1) limited 2) predetermined 3) controlled as to access 

and 4) would provide safety enhancements to the already best practices safety protocols followed by 

Dyno Nobel at its manufacturing facility in Louisiana. Approval of this exemption would thereby 

enhance safety and fulfill the Secretary of Transportation's (the FAA Administrator's) 

responsibilities to " ... establish requirements for the safe operation of such aircraft systems in the 

national airspace system." Section 333(c) of the Reform Act. 

The name and address of the applicant is: 

Dyno Nobel Louisiana Ammonia LLC 

10800 River Road 

Waggaman, Louisiana, 70094 

PH: 504-400-6035 

Email: James.Wold@am.dynonobel.com 
14 C.F.R. 91.109 

14 C.F.R. 91.119 

14 C.F.R. 91.121 

14 C.F.R. 91.203 (a) & (b) 

14 C.F.R. 91.405 (a) 

14 C.F.R. 407 (a) (1) 

14 C.F.R. 409 (a) (2) 

14 C.F.R. 417 (a) & (b) 

I. STATUTORY AUTHORITY FOR EXEMPTIONS 

The Federal Aviation Act expressly grants the FAA authority to issue exemptions. 

This statutory authority includes exempting civil aircraft, as the term is defined under 

§40101 of the Act, including sUASs, from the requirement that all civil aircraft must have a current 

airworthiness certificate. 

The Administrator may grant an exemption from a requirement of a regulation prescribed 

under subsection (a) or (b) of this section or any sections 44702-44716 ofthis title ifthe 

Administrator finds the exemption in the public interest. 49 U.S.C. §44701(£) See also 49 USC 

§44711(a); 49 USC §44704; 14 CFR §91.203(a) (1). 

Section 333(b) of the Reform Act assists the Secretary in determining whether sUAS may 

operate in the National Airspace System (NAS) without creating a hazard to the user, the public, or 

a threat to national security. In making this determination, the Secretary must consider: 

• The sUAS's size, weight, speed, and operational capability; 

• Whether the s UAS operates within the visual line of sight of the operator 

• Whether the s UAS operates outside of highly populated areas and away from close 

proximity to airports 

Reform Act §333(a). If the Secretary determines that a sUAS "may operate safely in the national 

airspace system, the Secretary shall establish requirements for the safe operation of such aircraft in 

the national airspace system." I d. §333(c). 

Dyno Nobel's sUAS are multirotor vehicles (DJi Phantom 2), weighing 10 or fewer lbs. 

including payload. They operate under normal conditions at a speed of no more than so knots and 

have the capability to hover, and move in the vertical and horizontal plane simultaneously. The 

sUAS will operate only in the Pilot's visual line of sight at all times and will operate only within the 

boundary of Dyno Nobel manufacturing facility. Such operations will insure that the sUAS will "not 

create a hazard to users of the national airspace system or the public." Reform Act Section 333 (b). 
exemptions is in the public interest. 

Accordingly, Dyno N abel respectfully requests that the FAA grant the requested exemption without 

delay. 

II. PUBLIC INTEREST 

This exemption application is expressly submitted to fulfill Congress' goal in passing Section 

333(a) through (c) of the Reform Act. This law directs the Secretary of Transportation to consider 

whether certain unmanned aircraft systems may operate safely in the NAS before completion of the 

rulemaldng required under Section 332 of the Reform Act. By granting an exemption the FAA will 

fulfill Congress's intent of allowing UAS to operate with significant safety precautions in low risk 

environments. 

The use of sUAS on a manufacturing site can significantly reduce the risk to workers of falls 

while inspecting, surveying, or monitoring site conditions. sUAS can inspect, photograph, and 

collect data on hard to get to areas that otherwise would require worker inspection. Falls are a 

leading source of workplace fatality and injury on construction sites1, and reducing falls through 

sUAS use for site imaging could save workers lives. 

Additionally, sUAS could replace the use of helicopters and small aircraft to monitor sites. 

The sUAS we propose to fly in this application are less than five pounds, and carry no combustible 

material on board, as opposed to the much larger conventionally powered small aircraft. Shifting to 

sUAS from helicopters presents a marked safety increase for our workers and the public. 

Lastly, sUAS reduce the environmental impact by dramatically decreasing the energy used 

for aerial imaging and data collection over a construction site. Our s UAS use rechargeable lithium 

ion batteries, as opposed to fossil fuels burned in operation of small aircraft that are many hundreds 

of times heavier. 

III. EQUIVALENT LEVEL OF SAFETY 

Dyno Nobel proposes that the exemption requested herein apply to sUAS that have the 

characteristics and that operate with the limitations listed herein. These limitations provide for at 

least an equivalent or even higher level of safety to operations under the current regulatory 

structure because the proposed operations represent a safety enhancement to the already safe 

protocols followed on construction sites and imaging and surveying operations conducted with 

helicopters and other conventional aircraft. 

1 "Commonly Used Statistics", Occupational Safety & Health Administration. Available at: 

https: I lwww.osha.gov I oshstatsl commonstats.html 
5. Crew for each operation will consist of the sUAS Pilot who will keep the sUAS within his 

visual line of sight at all times. 

6. The sUAS Pilot will be trained in flight, operations, and safety procedures. 

7. The sUAS will only operate within a confined "Sterile Area" as defined by the boundary of the 

manufacturing facility. 

8. A briefing will be conducted in regard to the planned sUAS operations prior to each day's 

production activities. It will be mandatory that all personnel who will be performing duties 

within the boundaries of the safety perimeter be present for this briefing. 

9. All onsite personnel will consent to the UAS flyover on site by waiver, and the operator will 

obtain additional verbal or written consent of all persons who will be allowed within 100 feet 

of the flight operation. 

10. Pilot will have been trained in operation of UASs generally and received up-to-date 

information on the particular UAS to be operated as required by Section F of the Manual. 

11 . Written and/ or oral permission from the relevant property holders will be obtained. 

12. All required permissions and permits will be obtained from territorial, state, county or city 

jurisdictions, including local law enforcement, fire, or other appropriate governmental agencies. 

13. If the s UAS loses communications or loses its GPS signal, it will have capability to enter "loiter 

mode" and hover, reestablish satellite connection, and return to a pre- determined location 

within the Security Perimeter and land. 

IV. DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC REGULATIONS 

14 CFR 61.113 (a) & (b): Private pilot privileges and limitations: Pilot in command 

Sections 61.113 (a) & (b) limit private pilots to non-commercial operations. Because the sUAS will 

not cany a pilot or passengers, the proposed operations can achieve the equivalent level of safety of 

current operations by requiring the Pilot operating the aircraft to have completed a sUAS flight 

training course of 100 hours before flying a sUAS (See Section F of the Manual for more details). 

Unlike a conventional aircraft that carries the pilot and passengers, the sUAS is remotely controlled 

with no living thing or cargo on board. Skycatch's sUAS is also operated by an autopilot, which 

greatly reduces the danger of human error. The area of operation is controlled and restricted to 

hard hat areas, and all flights are planned and coordinated in advance as set forth in the Manual. 

The sUAS to be operated hereunder is less than 10 lbs. fully loaded, carries neither a pilot nor 

passenger, carries no explosive materials or flammable liquid fuels, and operates exclusively within 
14 C.F.R. 91.103: Preflight Action 

This regulation requires each pilot in command take certain actions before flight to ensure the 

safety of flight. An exemption is needed from this requirement as the Pilot will take separate 

preflight actions, including checking for weather conditions, checking flight battery requirements, 

checking takeoff and landing distances, and all other actions in the Preflight Checldist. These 

actions will provide an equivalent level of safety. 

14 C.F. R. 91.119: Minimum Safe Altitudes 

Section 91.119 establishes safe altitudes for operation of civil aircraft. Section 91.119 (d) allows 

helicopters to be operated at less than the minimums prescribed, provided the person operating the 

helicopter complies with any route or altitudes prescribed for helicopters by the FAA. This 

exemption is for a multirotor craft that flies similarly to a helicopter, with vertical take off and 

vertical landing, which will typically operate at altitudes of 200 AGL, so an exemption may be 

needed to allow such operations. The sUAS will never operate at altitude higher than 400 AGL and 

will be in a restricted area with security perimeter, where buildings and people will not be exposed 

to operations without their pre-obtained consent. See Manual for detailed procedures. 

The equivalent level of safety will be achieved given the size, weight, speed of the s UAS as well as 

the location where it is operated. No flight will be taken without the permission. Because of the 

advance notice to any onsite personnel, all affected individuals will be aware of the planned flight 

operations. Unlike flight operations with aircraft or rotorcraft weighing far more than the maximum 

10 lbs. proposed herein, our s UAS will not carry flammable fuel. In addition, the low-altitude 

operations of the sUAS will ensure separation between sUAS operations and the operations of 

conventional aircraft that must comply with Section 91.119. 

14 C.F.R. 91.121: Altimeter Settings 

This regulation requires each person operating an aircraft to maintain cruising altitude by 

reference to an altimeter that is set " ... to the elevation of the departure airport or an appropriate 

altimeter setting available before depmture." As the sUAS may not have a barometric altimeter, but 

instead a GPS altitude read out, an exemption may be needed. An equivalent level of safety will be 

achieved by the operator, pursuant to the Manual and Safety Check list, confirming the altitude of 

the launch site shown on the GPS altitude indicator before flight. 
Dyno Nobel believes that an exemption from 14 CFR §91.151(a) falls within the scope of prior 

exemptions. See Exemption 10673 (allowing Lockheed Martin Corporation to operate without 

compliance with FAR 91.151 (a)). Operating the small sUAS, in a tightly controlled area where only 

people and property owners or official representatives who have signed waivers will be allowed, 

with less than 30 minutes of reserve fuel, does not engender the type of risks that Section 91.151(a) 

was intended to alleviate given the size and speed of the small UAS. Additionally, limiting sUAS 

flights to 10 minutes would greatly reduce the utility for which the exemption will be granted. 

An equivalent level of safety can be achieved by limiting flights to 30 minutes, or enough battery 

reserve to ensure that the sUAS lands at the ground station with at least 20% of battery power (as 

determined by the on board monitoring system and the Pilot), whichever happens first. This 

restriction would be more than adequate to return the sUAS to its planned landing zone from 

anywhere in its limited operating area. 

Similar exemptions have been granted to other operations, including Exemptions 2689F, 5745, 

10673, and 10808. 

14 CFR 91.405 (a); 407 (a)(1); 409 (a)(2); 417 (a) & (b): Maintenance inspections 

These regulations require that an aircraft operator or owner "shall have that aircraft inspected as 

prescribed in subpart E of this part and shall between required inspections, except as provided in 

paragraph (c) of this section, have discrepancies repaired as prescribed in part 43 of this 

chapter ... ," and others shall inspect or maintain the aircraft in compliance with Part 43. 

Given that these sections and Part 43 apply only to aircraft with an airworthiness certificate, these 

sections will not apply to Dyno Nobel. Maintenance will be accomplished by the operator pursuant 

to the flight manual and operating handbook An equivalent level of safety will be achieved because 

these small s UAS are very limited in size and will carry a small payload and operate only in 

restricted areas for limited periods of time. If mechanical issues arise the sUAS can land 

immediately and will be operating from no higher than 400 feet AGL. The Pilot will ensure that the 

sUAS is in working order prior to initiating flight, perform required maintenance, and keep a log of 

any maintenance performed. Moreover, the Pilot is the person most familiar with the aircraft and 
Approval of exemptions allowing commercial operations of s UAS in the manufacture industry 

enhances safety while reducing risk. Manned aircraft monitoring and surveying creates a greater 

risk because the craft are much larger, have combustible fuel, and carry an onboard human pilot. In 

contrast, a sUAS weighing fewer than 10 lbs. and powered by batteries eliminates virtually all of 

that risk given the reduced mass and lack of combustible fuel carried on board. The sUAS will carry 

no passengers or crew and, therefore, will not expose them to the risks associated with manned 

aircraft flights. 

The operation of small sUAS, weighing less than 10 lbs., conducted in the strict conditions outlined 

above, will provide an equivalent level of safety supporting the grant of the exemptions requested 

herein, including exempting the applicant from the requirements ofPm't 21 and allowing 

commercial operations. These lightweight aircraft operate at slow speeds, close to the ground, and 

in a sterile environment and, as a result, are far safer than conventional operations conducted with 

turbine helicopters operating in close proximity to the ground and people. 

Privacy 

All flights will occur over private or controlled access property with the property owner's prior 

consent and knowledge. Images taken will be of individuals who have also consented to being 

filmed or otherwise have agreed to be in the area where aerial photography will take place. 

Satisfaction of the criteria provided in Section 333 of the Reform Act of 2012--size, weight, speed, 

operating capabilities, proximity to airports and populated areas and operation within visual line 

of sight and national security - provide more than adequate justification for the grant of the 

requested exemptions allowing commercial operation of applicant's sUAS in manufacturing 

industry. 

Sincerely, 

James P Wold 

Dyno Nobel Louisiana Ammonia LLC 

Regulatory Compliance Engineer