Textual and Network Analysis of Part 107 Waivers

Context: The management of hazards in sUAS operations is not as well defined as today's commercial operations despite sUAS widespread use. Part 107 waived operations' provisions, which manage hazards for higher risk operations that require approval, can offer insight to organizations establishing UAS Programs in managing their own operation hazards.

Aim: We seek to understand how the FAA Part 107 waived operations manage hazards.

Method: We used the constant comparative method to identify hazard mitigation textual categories from provisions and use networks to assess the dispersion of provisions and the identified categories across issued waivers.

Results: Eight mitigation categories and twenty-four sub-categories were identified. Most provisions present in waivers are mostly reused in one waiver.

Conclusion: While there is a broad range of provisions to control for hazard mitigations in the Part 107 issued waivers analyzed regulations, they require case-by-case modifications.