GM1 to Article 11 Rules for Conducting an Operational Risk Assessment

CAA ORS9 Decision No. 46

Predefined Risk Assessment

When a UAS Operator applies for an OA, they must submit a risk assessment as required by Article 11 of the IR. This may be conducted using the methodology as described in AMC1 to Article 11 Conducting a UK Specific Operation Risk Assessment (UK SORA).

Alternatively, a UAS Operator may submit a request for an OA based on the mitigations and provisions described within a Predefined Risk Assessment (PDRA), as published by the CAA. In the case of a PDRA, the CAA has conducted a risk assessment that is compliant with Article 11.

A PDRA significantly reduces the administrative burden on both the operator and the CAA for simple, repeatable type operations. A UAS Operator provides a ‘shortened’ application to the CAA based on a series of requirements covering topics such as RP competency, OM contents, etc. Accompanying any PDRA based authorisation will be a set of prescriptive conditions an operator must comply with. These conditions form part of the risk mitigation measures identified by the CAA during the creation of a given PDRA.

The CAA will publish PDRAs separately to this AMC/ GM. Operators wishing to make use of PDRAs should use the relevant PDRA to complete the necessary parts of the OM. Completion of the risk assessment part of the OM (Volume 3) is not required, as this has already been carried out. Full instructions on how to make use of a PDRA, and what to submit to the CAA, can be found within CAP 722H.

Note: A PDRA only addresses safety risk; consequently, additional limitations and provisions might exist within an operation such as security, privacy, environmental protection, the use of the radio frequency (RF) spectrum, etc. It is for the operator to identify and mitigate against non-safety risks.