The FAA has granted a request from UPS Flight Forward to allow it to conduct drone delivery flights under an exemption from Part 135 rules. The decision could set a significant precedent for an industry that expects to scale up operations at such a pace that it will struggle to recruit suitably trained personnel. The bottom line from the decision, which was relayed to the company on April 27, is that remote pilots in command (RPIC) who lack commercial pilot certificates can operate UPS's small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS).
In a detailed summary granting a petition filed in September 2020, Robert Carty, deputy executive director of the FAA’s Flight Standards Service, explained the basis for the ruling to UPS Flight Forward’s operations director Eric Bergeson. The 20-page document details the basis for the decision, which is mainly founded on the training program that UPS has put in place for its RPICs.
