SafeAir UAS Parachutes Certified in Canada for Flights Over People

By Mike Ball / 17 Jul 2019
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ParaZero SafeAir drone parachute system

ParaZero Technologies, a developer of safety systems for commercial drones, has announced that its ASTM compliant SafeAir Systems for the DJI Phantom 4 Series and DJI Mavic 2 Series comply with the latest Transport Canada (TC) regulations for operations over people. This allows licensed operators using the SafeAir Mavic + ASTM Professional Kit and the SafeAir Phantom + ASTM Professional Kit to operate over people, effective immediately.

Transport Canada’s new rules for flying Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) in Canada came into effect recently. These rules are divided into two categories, basic and advanced. Advanced operations include flights in controlled airspace, flights near people and flights over people.

The framework developed by TC allows manufacturers or modifiers of RPAS to declare compliance with the requirements of each of the three advanced operations. While DJI has already declared compliance for these RPAS for operations in controlled airspace and operations near people (5 to 30 meters horizontally from people), operations over people are only permitted with ParaZero’s SafeAir Systems + ASTM Professional Kit.

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ParaZero’s declaration of compliance with the TC regulation is supported by the SafeAir’s compliance with ASTM F3322-18 Standard Specification for RPAS Parachutes. The industry consensus standard requires over 45 aerial deployments of the parachute system in all failure scenarios validated by a 3rd party testing agency.

“We have been studying TC’s new regulations and determining what testing and documentation we would need in order to comply,” said Avi Lozowick, VP of Policy and Strategy at ParaZero. “The ASTM F3322-18 Standard was an excellent starting point and was specifically referenced by TC. Through the ASTM testing, 3rd party validation and customer adoption, our system has proven to be the best-performing system on the market, and we are proud to have them enable the expanded use of drones in Canada and elsewhere.”

“Transport Canada’s new regulations and manufacturer declaration framework are a truly innovative approach to drone regulation,” said Eden Attias, CEO of ParaZero. “The fact that operators are not required to apply for specific approvals and waivers to unlock the capability of flight over people reduces significant friction from the process and allows the Canadian drone industry to continue to innovate and excel.”

To date, ParaZero’s SafeAir Systems are the first and only ASTM compliant parachute systems that are in use in the United States under Federal Aviation Authority waivers for operations over people.

Posted by Mike Ball Mike Ball is our resident technical editor here at Unmanned Systems Technology. Combining his passion for teaching, advanced engineering and all things unmanned, Mike keeps a watchful eye over everything related to the unmanned technical sector. With over 10 years’ experience in the unmanned field and a degree in engineering, Mike’s been heading up our technical team here for the last 8 years. Connect & Contact