Page 9 - Forum-2020-JulyToSeptember

Aviation Safety of

Remotely Piloted

Aircraft Systems in China

By Lin Yang, Air Safety Investigator and Senior Engineer, China Academy
of Civil Aviation Science and Technology, Civil Aviation of China; and
China Postal Airlines

(Adapted with permission from the author’s technical paper Review of Aviation Safety
Regulation and Practices of Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems [RPAS] in China presented
during ISASI 2019, Sept. 3–5, 2019, in The Hague, the Netherlands. The theme for ISASI 2019 was
“Future Safety: Has the Past Become Irrelevant?” The full presentation can be found on the ISASI
website at www.isasi.org in the Library tab under Technical Presentations.—Editor)

Development of RPAS in China managed by industry associations in
The industrial chain related to remotely China totaled 8,113, a significant increase
piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) has devel- compared to 1,898 in 2015 and 244 in
oped rapidly. 2014. In March 2017, CAAC issued the
At the end of 2016, the State Council Annual Report on the Development of
issued the National Emerging Industry Civil Aviation Pilots (2016). As of Dec.
Development Plan for Five-Years (2016– 31, 2016, the total number of civil RPAS
2020) that promotes the development of pilot licenses was 10,255, an increase of
RPAS that can be used in multiple sectors nearly four times compared to the num-
to meet market demand. National policies ber of certificates issued in 2015. These
and broad prospects will enable the RPAS certificates were mainly distributed to
industry to enter a robust development manufactures, research and development
phase. RPAS has been applied in various enterprises, and universities. There are
industries such as agriculture, forestry, 158 qualified RPAS pilot training institu-
mining, infrastructure assessment, power tions, nearly double the number in 2015.
line and pipeline inspection and moni- Today, most drone operators in China are
toring, aerial mapping, firefighting and individuals under the age of 40.
disaster relief, environmental protection, In February 2018, CAAC issued in-
meteorological observation, highway formation bulletin General and Small
management, postal express delivery, film Transportation Operation Overview 2017
and television production, and aerial pho- (IB-FS-2018-12) and Annual Report on
tography, etc. the Development of Civil Aviation Pilots
According to the forecast for 2017– (2017). As of Dec. 31, 2017, the number of
2021, the market scale of industry-level certificates held by various types of RPAS
RPAS will grow at a rapid rate of 30% per pilots managed by industry associations
year, and there is a trend to replace the had increased to 24,407, including 2,121
existing manned aircraft in many fields fixed-wing, 1,343 helicopters, 20,833
such as general aviation and freight multirotors, 9 airships, and 101 vertical
aviation. RPAS for agriculture will be takeoff and landing fixed-wing, which
popularized nationwide in 2019, and in are mainly distributed to companies that
2022, agriculture and recreational aerial manufacture drones, research and de-
photography will be gaining popularity. velopment enterprises, and universities.
In February 2017, the Civil Aviation A total of 199 pilot training institutions
Administration of China (CAAC) issued have training qualifications.
information bulletin General and Small In February 2019, CAAC issued in-
Transportation Operation Overview 2016 formation bulletin General and Small
(IB-FS-2017-011). As of Dec. 31, 2016, the Transportation Operation Overview 2018
Lin Yang number of RPAS with various certificates (IB-FS-2019-15) and Annual Report on

July-September 2020 ISASI Forum • 9