National Policy N 8900.504.pdf

The U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a notice (N 8900.504) on February 28, 2019, outlining updated Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) surveillance requirements for Flight Standards District Offices (FSDO). The notice aims to expand UAS oversight and provides guidance for FSDO personnel to incorporate into their Fiscal Year 2019 National Work Program Guidelines (NPG) work plans. The primary audience is Flight Standards Service Office of General Aviation Safety Assurance personnel, with secondary audiences including other FAA management, operational, and administrative employees. The notice is available on the MyFAA employee website and the FAA's website. Key points include:

New policy defining UAS surveillance requirements for FSDOs
Required Surveillance Work Activities (R-items) to be added to FY 2019 NPG work programs
Conditional R-Item: Conduct one UAS site visit where 5 or more UAS investigations occur within Class B, C, or D airspace, or 10 or more total investigations occur in any airspace
Targeted R-Item: Conduct one UAS site visit when notified by AFG leadership, focusing on airports with frequent UAS sightings
R-Items for enforcement actions against UAS operations interfering with wildfire, law enforcement, or emergency response
Proper recording of UAS surveillance activities in the Program Tracking and Reporting Subsystem (PTRS) for analysis purposes.