Due to the large number of possible circumstances, the CAA can only give general guidelines, however a person or people under the control of the UAS operator or remote pilot of an unmanned aircraft can generally be considered to be:
- Anyone present solely for the purpose of participating in the flight operation.
- Anyone under the control of the event or site manager who can reasonably be expected to follow directions and safety precautions to avoid unplanned interactions with the aircraft. Such people could include building-site or other industrial workers, film and TV production staff and any other pre-briefed, nominated individuals with an essential task to perform in relation to the event.
Spectators or other people gathered for sports or other mass public events that have not been specifically established for the purpose of the UAS operation are generally not regarded as being 'under the control of the UAS operator or remote pilot'.
In principle, someone who is under the control of the UAS operator or remote pilot at a mass public event must be able to:
- Decide to participate or not to participate;
- Broadly understand the risks involved;
- Have reasonable safeguards established for them by the site manager and unmanned aircraft operator during the period of operations;
- Not be restricted from taking part in the event or activity if they decide not to participate with the UAS operation.
To use an example: if filming with an unmanned aircraft at a large music festival or public event, it would not be sufficient for the audience/those present to be informed of the UAS operation via a public-address system, or in advance by e-mail or text. Those types of communication channels do not satisfy the points above.
Permission has occasionally been granted for unmanned aircraft flights at public events by special arrangement. These permissions have been extremely limited and usually involve a segregated take-off site with the unmanned aircraft operating only vertically within strict lateral limits. There is no allowance for direct over-flight of persons in these circumstances.
Additional guidance regarding filming in towns and cities can be found in the link above