by Scott Kesselman



Last week, the Federal Aviation Administration released Change 6 of order 2150.3B, the FAA compliance and enforcement program, to update guidance on actions applicable to operators of unmanned aircraft systems in violation of 14 C.F.R. — the Code of Regulations for Aeronautics and Space — or of model aircraft endangering the safety of the national airspace. 



The guidelines will help determine whether the safety inspector should take administrative or legal enforcement action.



For first-time, inadvertent violations that pose a low safety risk where the inspector determines compliance cannot be gained, warning notices or letters of correction are sufficient recourse.



Any violations that pose medium or high actual or potential risk or any repeated or intentional violations warrant legal enforcement action, according to the document.



Certificate holders are prone to tighter enforcement because of their knowledge of danger to the national airspace, and certificate action may be taken in addition to a civil penalty, especially for deliberate violations.



Penalties range from $100 for small entities or individuals to $25,000 per violation for large businesses, and fines will reflect the severity of the violation resulting in minimum, moderate or maximum range fines. Individuals in violation acting as pilots may owe from $500 minimum to $1,100 maximum per violation, and each flight can have multiple violations.