... an untrained civilian drone operator would prob be approved and welcomed in cases where official search and rescue has been suspended and search and recovery is the mission continued without air support.
Both are excellent replies. But the caveat still remains that no form of SAR (
rescue, recovery, Situ Awareness etc) falls under the Hobby/Recreational umbrella. The moment you are "doing something" for someone else (
regardless of compensation etc) you have exited the Hobby/336 box and must operate under a Public Use COA or Part 107. We are ALL Civil Operators (
it's an all encompassing circle) unless you are flying under a Public Use COA
(and that's a whole other ball of wax to digest and outside the scope of this thread). Congress mandated a "Carve Out" of the Civil Operations for Hobby/336 Operations. Think of 336 as a "Invisible Force Field/Bubble" that protects hobbyist from Part 107 regulations. As long as you fit the definition of 336/Hobbyist perfectly you are protected by this bubble. If any portion of your flight pierces this bubble you are subject to Part 107 regulations which are codified into US Law.
@bsartist I made an error in my NIMS comment. To be on our IMT we require ICS 100, 200, 300, 400, 700, 800. We don't have/allow people not on our team to be a part of our Aviation Division in regards to sUAS. That's not my call but from much higher than my pay grade. If someone not on our team were to come and wish to "fly" with us the "National" NIMS requirement is (
North Carolina requires the same on a state level which we mirror on a local level except the last part) is what they would have to meet:
Resource Typing Definition for Response Situational Assessment
REMOTE PILOT-IN-COMMAND (RPIC)
Completion of the following:
1. IS-100: Introduction to the Incident Command System, ICS-100
2. IS-200: Incident Command System for Single Resource and Initial Action Incidents
3. IS-700: National Incident Management System, An Introduction
4. IS-800: National Response Framework, An Introduction
5. Hazardous materials awareness training, such as: a. Training in accordance with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) 29 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 1910.120: Hazardous Materials Awareness, OR b. IS-5.A: An Introduction to Hazardous Materials, AND IS-3: Radiological Emergency Management
TECHNICAL SPECIALIST–UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEM
Completion of the following:
1. IS-100: Introduction to the Incident Command System, ICS-100
2. IS-200: Incident Command System for Single Resource and Initial Action Incidents
3. IS-700: National Incident Management System, An Introduction
4. IS-800: National Response Framework, An Introduction
5. Hazardous materials awareness training, such as: a. Training in accordance with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) 29 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 1910.120: Hazardous Materials Awareness, OR b. IS-5.A: An Introduction to Hazardous Materials, AND IS-3: Radiological Emergency Management
In addition to the credentials above there are other requirement for each position but I wanted to correct my mistake above and provide documentation to what is the correct answer.