Flying over people and flying at night each have their own Part 107 requirements, and both appear on the test.
Four categories over people
- Category 1: the aircraft weighs 0.55 pounds or less, including everything on board, and has no exposed rotating parts that would cut skin.
- Category 2: the aircraft must not cause injury as severe as a transfer of 11 foot-pounds of kinetic energy from a rigid object, and must be listed on an FAA-accepted declaration of compliance.
- Category 3: a higher injury threshold, with stricter limits on where it may fly. It may fly over people at a closed- or restricted-access site where everyone is told a drone may fly over them, and never over open-air assemblies.
- Category 4: the aircraft has a part 21 airworthiness certificate and is flown under operating limitations that do not prohibit operations over people.
Declarations of compliance
A declaration of compliance certifies that an aircraft meets the Category 2 or 3 requirements. The remote pilot must confirm the aircraft is labeled for its category and listed on an accepted declaration. A modification the operating instructions do not permit makes a Category 2 or 3 aircraft ineligible.
Open-air assemblies
Sustained flight over an open-air assembly is allowed in Categories 1, 2 and 4 only if the aircraft meets the Remote ID requirements, and never in Category 3.
Night and twilight
- Night runs from the end of evening civil twilight to the beginning of morning civil twilight. Civil twilight is the 30 minutes before sunrise and after sunset; twilight is not night.
- Night flight requires that the remote pilot completed the updated knowledge test or training after April 6, 2021, and anti-collision lighting visible for at least 3 statute miles.
- Lights and telemetry do not replace visual line of sight: you must still see the aircraft.
What can be waived
Operation over people (107.39) and the anti-collision lighting requirement are on the waivable list. The test-or-training requirement for night flight is not, and neither are the hazardous materials or careless and reckless operation rules.