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NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) - UAS Safety in Sight

September 2026

 
drone and teenager
 

Out of Sight and Supervision - 

An RPIC Eye-Opener

One of the goals of UAS Safety Reporting is to share lessons learned with the UAS community. When reporters describe their insights and reflect on their experiences, they contribute to UAS safety by offering valuable tips that others in the UAS community may be able apply to their operations.  


In this issue, we offer a report from a recreational drone pilot who let an enthusiastic bystander fly the drone while the pilot was away from the launch area. Upon returning to see the drone emerging from a cloud at an unexpectedly high altitude, the pilot quickly came to some troubling conclusions with hard lessons learned.  


Recreational flying comes with RPIC (Remote Pilot In Command) responsibilities, regardless of who is flying the drone. Maintaining Visual Line of Sight (VLOS), adhering to altitude restrictions, and obtaining authorization for flight in controlled airspace are key to safe operations. 

ACN: 2355399

This incident happened on Day 0, XA:15. It was a cloudy day with a very low 300ft ceiling. I arrived at my friend's house at around XA:10, and I decided to take my drone out while I was waiting. There is an open field in front of his house, and it is a clear-to-fly airspace for drones under 400ft, but a little close to the nearby airport's controlled airspace. After I got my Potensic Atom 2 drone out, a teenager approached me and asked to fly my drone, and stated he owned a DJI Mini series before. As I just got two newer model DJI drones, I feel I no longer value this drone that much. I have altered the maximum distance to around 500m (1640ft) horizontally, and did not change the maximum altitude at 120m (400ft) before handing it to him. I saw he started the motor without any problem, and started climbing, clearing nearby objects. I turned around and went inside my friend's house to use his restroom. 


After 5 or 6 minutes, when I went out, I saw the drone was descending below the cloud. After he returned the drone to me, I found it was slightly wet on the hull. I checked the drone, and I found the altitude limit was lifted to the max at 800m (2625 ft), and the flight log indicated a 798m (2618 ft) maximum flight altitude and probably busted B airspace at my location, which was where I realized it is a clear violation for both losing VLOS and busting altitude. 


I do understand the risks of flying UAS above 400 ft, especially into B airspace, and now I also know the risk of putting drones into the hands of someone you do not know. I truly regret letting an unfamiliar person operate my drone, and the lack of continuous supervision. In the future, I will not allow others to operate the aircraft without direct supervision and will never let incidents like this happen again. 

Editor’s Note: Learn more about RPIC responsibilities at the FAA’s Recreational Flyers page at https://www.faa.gov/uas/recreational_flyers

 
 
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Previous issues of UAS Safety In Sight are available online at ASRS: 

 
ASRS Database Online
To view these reports and other UAS reports, visit the ASRS Database Online: 
 
 
Would you like to learn more about the NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System?

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NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System
 
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