UAS Air Carrier Operations Survey: Crew and Staffing Requirements

Williams, Kevin W.; Hu, Peter T.; Mofle, Theodore C. · 2023 · ROSA P / United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Aviation Administration. Office of Aviation. Office of Aerospace Medicine

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Summary

This study addresses the regulatory gap regarding crew and staffing requirements for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) engaged in air carrier operations, such as package delivery and air taxi services. Current regulations, specifically 14 C.F.R. § 107, restrict small UAS operations and do not explicitly cover the complex crew dynamics of air carrier activities codified under 14 C.F.R. § 121 and § 135. As UAS applications expand, roles and responsibilities are evolving due to increased automation, yet standardized requirements for knowledge, skills, duties, and rest remain undefined. The research aims to inform future Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations to ensure the safe integration of these novel operations into the National Airspace System. The methodology combined an annotated bibliography synthesizing existing literature on crew and staffing with a comprehensive survey of subject matter experts. The survey targeted individuals involved in the manufacture, operation, or training of remotely piloted aircraft. Recruitment utilized a "wide net" strategy, sourcing participants from FAA waiver lists, public dockets, and snowball sampling. Eligibility required affiliation with an organization operating or planning commercial UAS operations, or involvement in UAS training, with a minimum of two employed pilots for operational entities. The survey instrument, approved by the Civil Aerospace Medical Institute’s Institutional Review Board, contained approximately 147 questions tailored via branching logic to respondents' specific expertise. Participants were compensated $50 for their time. The survey was active for 90 days, yielding 173 eligible respondents, falling short of the 220-target recruitment goal. The sample comprised 29.5% small UAS pilots/operators, 26.0% supervisors/managers, and 23.7% instructors. The study collected data on organizational characteristics, current crew sizes, automation levels, and anticipated staffing for future air carrier operations. Results detailed the number of pilots employed, the maximum number of drones operated simultaneously by single pilots, and the specific crew positions required for normal operations versus anticipated air carrier services. The data also covered aircraft characteristics, including maximum takeoff weights and autonomous functionalities, as well as specific considerations for air delivery and air taxi operations, such as cargo weights and passenger communication methods. The findings provide critical empirical data to support the standardization of UAS operator crew and staffing requirements. By identifying current practices and expert insights on future policies, the study highlights the need for distinct regulatory frameworks that account for the differences between traditional manned flight decks and ground-based control stations. The results underscore the variability in current crew sizes and the potential impact of automation on role definition. Ultimately, this research serves as a foundational step for the FAA and industry stakeholders to develop regulations that facilitate the safe and efficient integration of UAS air carrier operations into the National Airspace System.

Key finding

The survey of 173 industry experts provided comprehensive data on current UAS organizational structures, crew compositions, and automation levels to guide the development of standardized air carrier regulations.

Methodology

survey

Sample size: 173

Provenance

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Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-10; verification: verified.

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