I posted a question in another thread relating to our site; however, things have now changed. My company is an environmental consulting firm. We have recently rolled out drone services. We have a project site in a small town which entails an industrial facility with a subsurface chlorinated solvent-contaminated groundwater plume. There are residential properties adjacent to and extending three blocks away from the industrial facility that may be impacted by this plume (potential vapor intrusion). We would like to fly our drone autonomously over the industrial facility and residential properties to generate a topographic map and a 3D surface model of the area. During the flight, the drone will also fly over streets in this area. This area encompasses approximately 144 acres. The estimated drone flight altitude will be 250 ft. AGL. The estimated in-air drone flight time is 40 min. My cautious and conservative nature says that we should submit for a 107.39 waiver. Why? Because there is always a chance of the drone flying "directly overhead" a human being. For example, someone could be standing in their front yard when the drone passes overhead or the drone could pass over a moving vehicle on the street. Of course, the probability of my firm securing a 107.39 waiver from the FAA is remote given recent history. I would like to hear some thoughts from you commercial drone pilots. What would you do? Apply for the 107.39 waiver? Maybe I have too much of a strict interpretation of 107.39. Any other solutions? Thanks much.
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