Drone emergency response plans

How an ERP differs from your other procedures

The UK CAA and EASA both describe operational procedures in layers. Normal procedures cover the flight as planned. Contingency procedures deal with abnormal situations, such as the aircraft drifting towards the edge of its operating area, and aim to return the flight to normal or end it safely. Emergency procedures deal with failures that cause or lead to an emergency, and try to regain control or limit harm until the flight ends.

The ERP comes after that. Both regulators say it deals with the hazardous secondary or escalating effects once control of the operation is lost, and that it is separate from emergency procedures because it does not deal with controlling the aircraft.

To sort the steps, ask what each one involves. If a step involves flying the aircraft, it belongs in the emergency procedures. If it involves first aid, a cordon, a phone call or a report, it belongs in the ERP.

Where regulators expect an ERP

In the UK, the CAA's acceptable means of compliance for UK SORA places the ERP within operational safety objective 8 (OSO 8), which requires operational procedures to be defined, validated and adhered to. The ERP criterion is the same at every SAIL (specific assurance and integrity level). The plan must suit the situations, mitigate the anticipated secondary effects after the initial crash, set out each remote crew member's duties, and be easy to find and use. It must list the anticipated emergencies with a procedure for each, and list contacts such as air traffic control, police, fire service and first responders. The crew must be trained and able to carry out the procedures under stress. At SAIL 2 and above the plan must be developed to standards the CAA considers adequate, and at SAIL 3 and above the CAA checks continuing compliance through oversight.

In the EU, EASA's ED Decision 2025/018/R brought the SORA 2.5 package into the acceptable means of compliance for Regulation (EU) 2019/947. The ERP now sits under OSO #08 as one of the criteria for operational procedures, with similar minimum contents. EASA adds that the plan should be in proportion to what can follow a ground impact, such as fire or the release of poisonous gas. Under SORA 2.0 the ERP was a separate ground risk mitigation known as M3, so older templates and authorizations may still describe it that way.

In the US, Part 107 does not use the term ERP. It does require the remote pilot in command, before each flight, to make sure everyone directly taking part has been told about the operating conditions, emergency and contingency procedures, roles and responsibilities, and hazards. The reporting duties below apply whatever plan you keep. If you hold a waiver, exemption or other FAA approval, read its conditions for anything extra it asks of you in an emergency.

What the plan should cover, and keeping it usable

Both the UK and EASA criteria ask for a plan that is practical to use. Keep a short site sheet for each job with the details that change between locations: the nearest hospital with an emergency department, local police and fire contacts, the air traffic unit or aerodrome if you fly near controlled airspace, the landowner or site manager, and where the crew will meet the emergency services. A generic plan with none of this is hard to follow under pressure.

EASA's guidance on validating an ERP describes tabletop exercises, run at the interval the plan sets, which may involve the third parties named in it. A one-person operator that manages no outside staff may not need one. Larger operators and complex operations may need partial or full-scale exercises and drills as well, and EASA expects them where the highest level is required or claimed for the ERP. After a real emergency, EASA expects the operator to review how it was handled and whether the plan worked.

Plan for each emergency your risk assessment identifies. For most operations that includes:

• A flyaway or lost control link that the emergency procedures could not recover, including who tracks the last known position and who warns people in its way
• A battery or aircraft fire after a crash, and the point at which the crew steps back and leaves it to the fire service
• Injury to a member of the public or the crew, covering first aid, calling the emergency services and keeping the area clear
• A crash onto third-party property such as a building, vehicle or road, including making the scene safe and contacting the owner
• An airspace infringement or a conflict with a manned aircraft, including who calls the relevant air traffic unit
• Keeping evidence: flight logs, telemetry, photos of the scene and the aircraft itself, held until any investigation is complete
• Who reports what, to whom and by when, matched to the rules where you fly

Reporting duties after an accident or occurrence

In the UK and the EU, reportable occurrences involving a drone are reported in line with Regulation (EU) No 376/2014 and Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/1018 (in the UK, their assimilated versions). Alongside the occurrences listed in 2015/1018, consider events specific to drones, such as anything that could put other airspace users or third parties at risk. The CAA's list of reportable drone occurrences includes unintended loss of control, loss of the command and control link, landing outside the planned area, battery failure, conflict with another aircraft and infringing airspace restrictions such as flight restriction zones.

Reports go through the ECCAIRS2 portal. Within 30 days of the initial notification, submit details of the safety risks you have identified, with your preliminary analysis and the actions you will take as a result. Submit the final results of your internal investigation no later than three months from the date of the initial notification.

In the UK, accidents and serious incidents must also be reported to the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB), which runs a 24-hour line on +44 (0)1252 512299. Where another aircraft was involved, an Airprox report may also be appropriate (the UK Airprox Board can advise at contact@airproxboard.org.uk), and you can raise a confidential report with CHIRP.

In the US, report through the FAADroneZone portal within 10 calendar days any Part 107 operation that causes serious injury, loss of consciousness, or damage to property other than the drone where the repair cost exceeds $500. The FAA's Aviation Safety Reporting Program for UAS explains the wider reporting options, and you can also file a voluntary report with NASA's Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS). Report any bird or other wildlife strike on FAA Form 5200-7. Separately, report immediately to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) if the event involves any of the following:

• An accident involving death or serious injury
• A flight control system malfunction or failure
• An in-flight fire
• A collision in flight
• Damage to property, other than the aircraft, estimated at more than $25,000

What a consultant does, and what to ask before hiring

A consultant can write or review the ERP alongside your risk assessment and operations manual, check that it covers the emergencies your assessment identifies, build site sheets, and run a tabletop exercise with your crew. They cannot approve the plan or promise an authorization outcome: the CAA, your national authority or the FAA decides. Consultants listed on DOC are vetted (identity, legal entity, sanctions screening and professional indemnity insurance), and regulator experience is shown as verified only where it has been evidenced.

• Have you written ERPs for UK SORA or EASA SORA 2.5 applications, and at which SAIL?
• How will you tie the plan to the emergencies in our risk assessment?
• Will you run a tabletop exercise with our crew, and how will it be recorded?
• How do you keep our reporting procedures in line with the current rules where we fly?
• What will you need from us for each new site?

Common mistakes

Real incidents and assessors' questions tend to expose the same gaps in a plan:

• Mixing emergency procedures and the ERP into one list, so nobody is sure which steps apply while the aircraft is still flying
• A generic plan with no site contacts, meeting point or nearest hospital
• Giving several roles to a one- or two-person crew who cannot fill them at the same time
• A reporting section that names the wrong body, or leaves reporting out altogether
• Never testing the plan, so the crew uses it for the first time in a real emergency
• Clearing away the aircraft and deleting flight logs before anyone has checked whether an investigation will follow