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APPENDIX C

LIMITATIONS AND CONDITIONS

The limitations and conditions to which NICC (or "operator") agrees to be bound when 

conducting commercial operations under an FAA issued exemption include:

1. The operator is limited to use any aircraft identified on the List of Approved Unmanned Aerial 

Systems (UAS) under Section 333 at regulatory docket FAA–2007–3330 at, when weighing less 

than 55 pounds including payload. At this time NICC will be using the DJI Phantom 3 

Professional, which is a miniature rotor aircraft that weighs less than 5 pounds. Proposed 

operations of any aircraft not on the list currently posted to the above docket will require a new 

petition or a petition to amend this exemption.

2. PIC certification: Under this exemption, a PIC must hold either an airline transport, 

commercial, private, recreational, or sport pilot certificate. The PIC must also hold a current 

FAA airman medical certificate or a valid U.S. driver’s license issued by a state, the District of 

Columbia, Puerto Rico, a territory, a possession, or the Federal Government. The PIC must also 

meet the flight review requirements specified in 14 CFR § 61.56 in an aircraft in which the PIC 

is rated on his or her pilot certificate.

3. PIC qualifications: The PIC must demonstrate the ability to safely operate the UAS in a 

manner consistent with how it will be operated under this exemption, including evasive and 

emergency maneuvers and maintaining appropriate distances from persons, vessels, vehicles, and 

structures before operating non-training, proficiency, or experience-building flights under this 

exemption. PIC qualification flight hours and currency may be logged in a manner consistent 

with 14 CFR § 61.51(b), however UAS pilots must not log this time in the same columns or 

categories as time accrued during manned flight. UAS flight time must not be recorded as part of 

total time.

4. Under all situations, the PIC is responsible for the safety of the operation. The PIC is also 

responsible for meeting all applicable conditions and limitations as prescribed in this exemption 

and ATO-issued COA, and operating in accordance with the operating documents. All training 

operations must be conducted during dedicated training sessions and may or may not be for 

compensation or hire. The operation must be conducted with a dedicated visual observer (VO) 

who has no collateral duties and is not the PIC during the flight. The VO must maintain visual 

sight of the aircraft at all times during flight operations without distraction in accordance with 

the conditions and limitations below. Furthermore, the PIC must operate the UA not closer than 

500 feet to any nonparticipating person without exception.
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5. The UA may not be flown at an indicated airspeed exceeding 50 knots (58 mph). The 

exemption holder may use either groundspeed or calibrated airspeed to determine compliance 

with the 50 knot speed restriction. In no case will the UA be operated at airspeeds greater than 

the maximum UA operating airspeed recommended by the aircraft manufacturer.

6. . The UA may be operated at an altitude of no more than 400 feet above ground level 

("AGL"). Altitude must be reported in feet AGL.

7. The UA must be operated within visual line of sight (VLOS) of the PIC at all times. This 

requires the PIC to be able to use human vision unaided by any device other than corrective 

lenses, as specified on the PIC’s FAA-issued airman medical certificate or U.S. driver’s license.

8. All operations must utilize a VO. The UA must be operated within the VLOS of the PIC and 

VO at all times. The VO may be used to satisfy the VLOS requirement as long as the PIC always 

maintains VLOS capability. The VO and PIC must be able to communicate verbally at all times; 

electronic messaging or texting is not permitted during flight operations. The PIC must be 

designated before the flight and cannot transfer his or her designation for the duration of the 

flight. The PIC must ensure that the VO can perform the duties required of the VO.

9. The approved exemption, the List of Approved Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) under 

Section 333 at regulatory docket FAA–2007–3330, and all documents needed to operate the 

UAS and conduct its operations in accordance with the conditions and limitations stated in this 

grant of exemption, are hereinafter referred to as the operating documents. The operating 

documents must be accessible during UAS operations and made available to the Administrator 

upon request. If a discrepancy exists between the conditions and limitations in this exemption 

and the procedures outlined in the operating documents, the conditions and limitations herein 

take precedence and must be followed. Otherwise, the operator must follow the procedures as 

outlined in its operating documents. The operator may update or revise its operating documents. 

It is the operator’s responsibility to track such revisions and present updated and revised 

documents to the Administrator or any law enforcement official upon request. The operator must 

also present updated and revised documents if it petitions for extension or amendment to this 

grant of exemption. If the operator determines that any update or revision would affect the basis 

upon which the FAA granted this exemption, then the operator must petition for an amendment 

to its grant of exemption.

10. Any UAS that has undergone maintenance or alterations that affect the UAS operation or 

flight characteristics, e.g., replacement of a flight critical component, must undergo a functional 

test flight prior to conducting further operations under this exemption. Functional test flights may 

only be conducted by a PIC with a VO and must remain at least 500 feet from other people. The 

functional test flight must be conducted in such a manner so as to not pose an undue hazard to 

persons and property.
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11. The operator is responsible for maintaining and inspecting the UAS to ensure that it is in a 

condition for safe operation.

12. Prior to each flight, the PIC must conduct a pre-flight inspection and determine the UAS is in 

a condition for safe flight. The pre-flight inspection must account for all potential discrepancies, 

e.g., inoperable components, items, or equipment. If the inspection reveals a condition that 

affects the safe operation of the UAS, the aircraft is prohibited from operating until the necessary 

maintenance has been performed and the UAS is found to be in a condition for safe flight.

13. The operator must follow the UAS manufacturer’s maintenance, overhaul, replacement, 

inspection, and life limit requirements for the aircraft and aircraft components.

14. Each UAS operated under this exemption must comply with all manufacturer's safety 

bulletins.

15. UAS operations may not be conducted during night, as defined in 14 CFR § 1.1. All 

operations must be conducted under visual meteorological conditions (VMC). Flights under 

special visual flight rules (SVFR) are not authorized.

16. The UA may not be operated less than 500 feet below or less than 2,000 feet horizontally 

from a cloud or when visibility is less than 3 statute miles from the PIC.

17. For UAS operations where GPS signal is necessary to safely operate the UA, the PIC must 

immediately recover/land the UA upon loss of GPS signal.

18. If the PIC loses command or control link with the UA, the UA must follow a pre-determined 

route to either reestablish link or immediately recover or land.

19. The PIC is prohibited from beginning a flight unless (considering wind and forecast weather 

conditions) there is enough available power for the UA to conduct the intended operation and to 

operate after that for at least 5 minutes or with the reserve power recommended by the 

manufacturer if greater.

20. The PIC must abort the flight operation if circumstances or emergencies that could 

potentially degrade the safety of persons or property arise. The PIC must terminate flight 

operations without causing undue hazard to persons or property in the air or on the ground.

21. All operations shall be conducted in accordance with the Blanket COA for any Operator 

issued a valid Section 333 Grant of Exemption. The exemption holder must apply for a new 

COA if it intends to conduct operations that cannot be conducted under the terms of the Blanket 

COA.

22. All aircraft operated in accordance with this exemption must be registered in accordance with 

14 CFR part 47 or 48, and have identification markings in accordance with 14 CFR part 45, 
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Subpart C or part 48. For applicability and implementation dates of part 48 see 80 FR 78594 

(Dec. 16, 2015).

23. Documents used by the operator to ensure the safe operation and flight of the UAS and any 

documents required under 14 CFR §§ 91.9 and 91.203 must be available to the PIC at the 

Ground Control Station of the UAS any time the aircraft is operating. These documents must be 

made available to the Administrator or any law enforcement official upon request.

24. The UA must remain clear and give way to all manned aviation operations and activities at 

all times.

25. The UAS may not be operated by the PIC from any moving device or vehicle.

26. All flight operations must be conducted at least 500 feet from all persons, vessels, vehicles, 

and structures unless when operating:

a. Over or near people directly participating in the operation of the UAS. People directly 

participating in the operation of the UAS include the PIC, VO, and other consenting 

personnel that are directly participating in the safe operation of the UA.

b. Near but not over people directly participating in the intended purpose of the UAS 

operation. People directly participating in the intended purpose of the UAS must be 

briefed on the potential risks and acknowledge and consent to those risks. Operators must 

notify the local Flight Standards District Office (FSDO) with a plan of activities at least 

72 hours prior to flight operations.

c. Near nonparticipating persons. Except as provided in subsections (a) and (b) of this 

section, a UA may only be operated closer than 500 feet to a person when barriers or 

structures are present that sufficiently protect that person from the UA and/or debris or 

hazardous materials such as fuel or chemicals in the event of an accident. Under these 

conditions, the operator must ensure that the person remains under such protection for the 

duration of the operation. If a situation arises where the person leaves such protection and 

is within 500 feet of the UA, flight operations must cease immediately in a manner that 

does not cause undue hazard to persons.

d. Near vessels, vehicles and structures. Prior to conducting operations the operator must 

obtain permission from a person with the legal authority over any vessels, vehicles, or 

structures that will be within 500 feet of the UA during operations. The PIC must make a 

safety assessment of the risk of operating closer to those objects and determined that it 

does not present an undue hazard.
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27. All operations shall be conducted over private or controlled-access property with permission 

from a person with the legal authority to grant access. Permission will be obtained for each flight 

to be conducted.

28. Any incident, accident, or flight operation that transgresses the lateral or vertical boundaries 

of the operational area as defined by the applicable COA must be reported to the FAA’s UAS 

Integration Office within 24 hours. Accidents and incidents must be reported to the National 

Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in accordance with 49 CFR § 830.5 per instructions 

contained on the NTSB Web site: www.ntsb.gov.

For operations conducted closer than 500 feet to people directly participating in the intended 

purpose of the operation, not protected by barriers, the following additional conditions and 

limitations apply:

29. The operator must have an operations manual that contains at least the following items, 

although it is not restricted to these items.

a. Operator name, address, and telephone number.

b. Distribution and Revision. Procedures for revising and distributing the operations 

manual to ensure that it is kept current. Revisions must comply with the applicable 

conditions and limitations in this exemption.

c. Persons Authorized. Specify criteria for designating individuals as directly 

participating in the safe operation of the UAS. The operations manual must include 

procedures to ensure that all operations are conducted at distances from persons in 

accordance with the conditions and limitations of the exemption.

d. Plan of Activities. The operations manual must include procedures for the submission 

of a written plan of activities.

e. Permission to Operate. The operations manual shall specify requirements and 

procedures that the operator will use to obtain permission to operate over property or near 

vessels, vehicles, and structures in accordance with this exemption.

f. Security. The manual must specify the method of security that will be used to ensure 

the safety of nonparticipating persons. This should also include procedures that will be 

used to stop activities when unauthorized persons, vehicles, or aircraft enter the 

operations area, or for any other reason, in the interest of safety.

g. Briefing of persons directly participating in the intended operation. Procedures must be 

included to brief personnel and participating persons on the risks involved, emergency 

procedures, and safeguards to be followed during the operation.
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h. Personnel directly participating in the safe operation of the UAS Minimum 

Requirements. In accordance with this exemption, the operator must specify the 

minimum requirements for all flight personnel in the operating manual. The PIC at a 

minimum will be required to meet the certification standards specified in this exemption.

i. Communications. The operations manual must contain procedures to provide 

communications capability with participants during the operation. The operator can use 

oral, visual, or radio communications as along as the participants are apprised of the 

current status of the operation.

j. Accident Notification. The operations manual must contain procedures for notification 

and reporting of accidents in accordance with this exemption.

In accordance with this exemption, the operating manual and all other operating 

documents must be accessible to the PIC during UAS operations.