Assemblyman Jo Oseop: "Surge in Drone Safety Inspection Applications, Measures Needed"

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Assemblyman Jo O-seop (The Democratic Party of Korea·Gwangju Buk-gu Gap) stated on the 22nd that "measures are needed to address the surge in applications for drone safety certification inspections."

On the same day, Assemblyman Jo pointed out at the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee plenary meeting, "Although the number of safety certification inspections for unmanned powered aircraft (hereinafter drones) is surging, effective measures have not been presented."

According to the revision of the Aviation Safety Act Enforcement Rules on May 27 last year, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will officially implement the drone safety certification system starting next month on the 1st.

The revision of the enforcement rules mainly includes the differentiation of pilot qualifications according to the drone classification system, establishment of detailed rules for designating professional training institutions and preparation of inspection methods, and the construction of an electronic attendance management system.

In particular, pilot qualifications according to the drone classification system are classified based on the drone's maximum takeoff weight as Type 1 (over 25 kg), Type 2 (7 to 25 kg), Type 3 (2 to 7 kg), and Type 4 (250 g to 2 kg).

Professional training institutions require drones exceeding 25 kg for obtaining Type 1 or higher qualification certification and must pass the safety certification inspection from the Aviation Safety Technology Institute. However, even this is challenging.

In preparation for the revision and implementation of the enforcement rules, applications for safety certification inspections for drones exceeding 25 kg have surged at the Aviation Safety Technology Institute from professional training institutions, but inspection personnel are severely insufficient.

After a rapid increase from 625 units in 2019 to 897 units in 2020, only 253 units had completed certification as of February 21, 2021, while 651 units are waiting for inspection.

However, the Aviation Safety Technology Institute has only 11 inspection personnel, who also conduct inspections in other fields such as paragliding, so only about six drones can be inspected per day on average.

Realistically, it is impossible to complete inspections for the 651 drones waiting for inspection by the enforcement date of the Aviation Safety Act Enforcement Rules on the 1st of next month.

Assemblyman Jo said, "While I agree with the purpose of introducing the drone safety certification system, measures to address the problems that would arise should have been prepared through prior consultation with the Aviation Safety Technology Institute," adding, "Since drone training institutions must undergo safety inspections annually for drones with a maximum takeoff weight of 25 kg or more, the current personnel and system will inevitably lead to the same problems recurring every year."

He continued, "Until the establishment of safety certification inspection branch offices and the expansion of inspection personnel are completed, the postponement of the introduction of the national drone qualification system should be considered."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.