Who is authorising your UK drone authorisation? – sUAS News

If you read CAP2552 – CAA Corporate Governance Statement – Section 3 – Authorising Staff to Perform CAA Functions – 3.9 reads

“As part of its arrangements to ensure that safety accountabilities are clearly identified, understood and are effectively discharged, the CAA has established a framework of safety accountabilities. The framework extends from the Chief Executive through the management chain, with emphasis on the accountabilities of the Group Director Safety and Airspace Regulation and senior colleagues in the Safety and Airspace Regulation Group.”

And if you read the FOI of the SARG AUTHORISATION at www.tinyurl.com/SARGMATRIX (use the link in the top right hand corner) you can find the latest iteration of this document from 2019. FOI have confirmed to me that there is no newer version!

This document gives you the functions and whose authorised to do them.

Check out Function 58 – The renewal of a permission for— a small unmanned aircraft up to 7kg to conduct aerial work a small unmanned surveillance aircraft up to 7kg to fly in specified circumstances  – Any Technical Officer or above in SARG. is authorised to do this.

This is the only mention of drones..

The 7kg limit comes from the old ANO 94/95, which has been superseded by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/947 and there has been an addition to the SARG Matrix in 2024, that details Articles 71(1)&(2) of EU Reg 2018/1139 but that only permits those functions to be performed by Flight Ops, not by RPAS staff.

So how did the CAA give me Operational Authorisation for an 8Kg aircraft when none of their staff appear to be authorised through this management matrix to do so?

How has any drone operator been given a NEW authorisation since 2019 when this function only relates to renewals? Are the CAA breaching Section 7(1) of the Civil Aviation Act 1982, by failing to properly authorise their staff?

The person who was in charge of overseeing this matrix at the time was the Group Director for SARG, who is now the CEO, (Hey Rob Bishton! – he doesn’t like me much..)

Now it is just possible that RPAS staff and inspectors have been authorised through some other means that complies with Section 7(1) of the Civil Aviation Act 1982, that FOI wont reveal, and I really hope I am wrong, but I call on Giancarlo Buono , MSc FRAeS the new GDSARG to sort this out.

One wonders just how much money the CAA has received from the 2806 OA holders – 2806, 109 OSC holders all who have documents with stamps on them from staff who don’t appear on this SARG Management Matrix to be authorised to do so.

One wonders if the FlyerID/OperatorID/DISCO/SORA platforms are authorised?

Now you might be thinking, yeah but this is only an internal document, does it really matter? Well I believe it does.

You can expect more “Tales of Accountability” before my Reg 6 review in July/August.

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