EASA’s IAM Hub launches public version of the UAS critical area assessment tool

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency’s (EASA) Innovative Air Mobility Hub has launched the public version of its tool to determine the ‘critical area’ of a drone. The size of the critical area is a key element to determine the ground risk within the SORA risk assessments, which are needed to authorise drone operations in the EU. 

Uncrewed aerial system (UAS) operators may use the default value of critical area, proposed in the SORA methodology or they may opt to define a more precise critical area value, to demonstrate a lower ground risk class. 

The critical area assessment can be complex due to the plethora of the contributing effects and factors. To reduce the burden on UAS operators and foster a harmonised approach towards the calculation of the critical area, EASA developed the Critical Area Assessment Tool (CAAT) to support applicants in the ground risk determination.

The Critical Area Assessment Tool is  hosted by the EASA Innovative Air Mobility (IAM) Hub, a digital platform that brings together all actors in the European system including cities, regions, national authorities, the EU, operators and manufactures. The primary goal is to facilitate the safe, secure, efficient, and sustainable implementation of IAM practices. It is flagship action number 7 of the Drones Strategy 2.0. 

This project has received funding from a Contribution Agreement  with the European Commission.