![]() Thus, the door is still open for people who wish to use drones for illegal operations to simply fly them without any attempts for registration or certification. This argument has some merit, especially considering that not all drone operations happen under Part 107 rules. How effective has the TSA background check been?Ī very common critique of the TSA vetting step during Part 107 certification is the argument that people who intend to use drones for crime will not go through the certification process. If you have not committed a felony in the past year or two, then there should be no reason for your Part 107 application to be denied. This applies to ‘minor’ criminal offenses including arson, smuggling, extortion, fraud, money laundering, or unlawful possession of firearms.Īgain, there are no published hard and fast rules on how far back the TSA looks when doing a background check. This means that people who have been convicted of these crimes may be denied their application if the conviction happened anytime between five to seven years before the application. What we know is that there have been people with felonies within the last five years who have still been granted their Part 107 certification.īased on the TSA guidelines, there are criminal offenses that will be considered only in the interim. If you committed a felony five years ago, will it hurt your chances of getting a Part 107 drone license? Again, the TSA isn’t exactly forthcoming with this information. We have already heard of accounts of drones being used for illegal espionage, smuggling of illegal goods into prisons, or disrupting airport operations. The anti-terrorist measure is likely the most important aspect of the TSA background check, considering how it has been shown time and again that drones can be used for malicious or criminal purposes. It might even be more accurate to describe the vetting process as a “threat assessment.” However, the TSA also reserves the right to deny applicants during the vetting process for grounds not covered by these published guidelines. Among the less serious offenses that the TSA looks for are extortion, robbery, arson, smuggling, immigration violations, and voluntary manslaughter.Īs you can tell, most of these offenses are grave and seem to justify being denied a Part 107 drone license. The list also includes criminal offenses including treason, sedition, unlawful possession of explosive devices, murder, and improper transportation of hazardous material. Among the top offenses is inclusion in terrorist watchlists or other related government or international databases. While the TSA does not have a set of offenses specifically for Part 107 assessment, a good guideline to follow would be their list of Disqualifying Offenses and Factors. It’s safe to assume that the TSA also checks the criminal record of all Part 107 applicants. Other heavy criminal offenses may also compromise your chances of earning the Part 107 certification. Just as with other airman certifications, the primary objective of the TSA background check in Part 107 is to ensure that the applicant is not on some terrorist list or has had some serious offense related to aviation. It is part and parcel of the FAA recognizing drone pilots as airmen and drones as vital components of the national airspace. That means that it is a requisite step for drone pilots as much as it is for private pilots and recreational pilots. The simplest answer is that a TSA background check is a standard part of any airman certification process. But why do they bother doing it for drone pilots anyway? This is a testament to how much work and time the TSA spends on doing these background checks. In some cases, it will only take a few days. How long the background check takes will depend largely on the backlog of airman certification applications. It is pretty much the final step – the one last hurdle you will need to overcome before you will be allowed to fly drones commercially. In the Part 107 certification process, the TSA background check comes once you have passed the knowledge test and submitted a formal application for the Part 107 drone license. What exactly does the TSA check for and how far back do they look? Are there any circumstances that could cause them to disapprove of your Part 107 application? As you would expect, information on this matter is quite scarce but we will try and delve deeper on this matter from what little is available. However, there’s a part of the certification process that is still poorly understood – the TSA background check. Most of it is simply studying, taking a test, and passing it. Compared to any other previous certification standards for drone pilots, Part 107 certification is undeniably a lot faster and less tedious.
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