Module 13: Operations Over People and Moving Vehicles
Before April 2021, flying a drone directly over people who were not part of the operation required an FAA waiver, granted only case by case. Since April 2021, 14 CFR Part 107 Subpart D (Operations Over Human Beings) permits these operations without a waiver, sorted into four risk-based categories with their own eligibility rules. This module covers all four categories in depth, the shared eligibility test that separates them, and the additional restrictions that apply specifically to flying over moving vehicles under 14 CFR 107.145.
Learning outcomes
- Explain that operations over people are permitted under 14 CFR Part 107 Subpart D without a waiver since April 2021, replacing the pre-2021 waiver-only framework
- Identify the four operational categories and which regulation section governs eligibility and operating requirements for each
- State the weight and no-lacerating-rotating-parts test that qualifies an aircraft for Category 1 operations without an FAA declaration of compliance
- Explain the FAA-accepted means-of-compliance and declaration-of-compliance pathway required for Category 2 and Category 3, and the injury-severity thresholds and operating restrictions that separate them
- Explain the airworthiness-certificate pathway required for Category 4 operations
- State the added conditions under 14 CFR 107.145 that apply specifically to operating over a human being located inside a moving vehicle
The six lessons in this module build in a deliberate order. Lesson A opens with the history and the big picture: why operations over people were waiver-only before 2021, what changed, and how the four-category structure of 14 CFR Part 107 Subpart D fits together under the general applicability rule at 14 CFR 107.105. Lessons B through E then take each category in turn — Category 1 (14 CFR 107.110), Category 2 (14 CFR 107.115 and 107.120), Category 3 (14 CFR 107.125 and 107.130), and Category 4 (14 CFR 107.140) — covering exactly what makes an aircraft eligible for that category, what operating restrictions apply, and how a remote pilot in command actually confirms eligibility before a flight.
These four categories are not four equally available options a pilot picks from freely. Category 1 is purely a function of the aircraft's weight and the absence of exposed rotating parts that could lacerate skin — no FAA paperwork required. Categories 2 and 3 require the aircraft's manufacturer to have obtained an FAA-accepted declaration of compliance based on impact-energy testing, not weight. Category 4 requires a standard FAA airworthiness certificate. A remote pilot cannot simply decide an aircraft is "Category 2" — eligibility is a property of the specific aircraft as built and certified, not a choice made at the controls.
Lesson F closes the module with 14 CFR 107.145, the rule governing operations over moving vehicles, which layers additional conditions on top of whichever category (1 through 4) the aircraft already qualifies for. Operations Over People is tested under ACS Task I.E within Area of Operation I: Regulations, and it is one of the most frequently misunderstood areas on the real knowledge test because the four categories share similar-sounding language while differing in specific, testable numbers — treat this module as material to know cold, not skim.
The pre-2021 waiver-only history, what changed in April 2021, and how the four-category structure of Subpart D fits together.
The 0.55-pound weight and no-lacerating-rotating-parts test — the only category with no FAA declaration of compliance required.
The 11 foot-pound injury-severity threshold, declaration of compliance, and the sustained-flight-over-assemblies restriction.
The 25 foot-pound injury-severity threshold and the tighter site-based restrictions that come with it, including the open-air assembly ban.
The airworthiness-certificate pathway and operating strictly within the approved Flight Manual's limitations.
The added conditions of 14 CFR 107.145 that layer on top of whichever category the aircraft already qualifies for.