[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 189 (Monday, October 2, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67862-67863]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-21639]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

[Docket No. 2020-0486]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Requests for Comments; 
Clearance of a Renewed Approval of Information Collection: Survey of 
Uncrewed-Aircraft-Systems Operators

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, FAA 
invites public comments about our intention to request the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) approval to renew an information 
collection. The information collection involves a survey of uncrewed-
aircraft-systems (UAS) operators within the United States. The 
information gathered through the survey's questionnaire on flight 
behavior and fleet characteristics is used to inform UAS rule making 
and guide investment in UAS research and infrastructure. This renewal 
seeks to continue the survey and improve the survey design to increase 
the generalization of survey results.

DATES: Written comments should be submitted by November 29th, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Please send written comments:
    By Electronic Docket: www.regulations.gov (Enter docket number into 
search field).
    By mail: William Ekins, FAA-APO, 800 Independence Ave SW, Suite 
935, Washington, DC 20591.
    By fax: Attention: Survey of Uncrewed-Aircraft-System Operators, 
(202) 267-6384.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William Ekins by email at: [email protected]; phone: (202) 267-4735.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Public Comments Invited: You are asked to comment on any aspect of 
this information collection, including (a) whether the proposed 
collection of information is necessary for FAA's performance; (b) the 
accuracy of the estimated burden; (c) ways for FAA to enhance the 
quality, utility, and clarity of the information collection; and (d) 
ways that the burden could be minimized without reducing the quality of 
the collected information. The agency will summarize and/or include 
your comments in the request for OMB's clearance of this information 
collection.
    OMB Control Number: 2120-0797.
    Title: Survey of Uncrewed-Aircraft-Operators.
    Form Numbers: Online Collection.
    Type of Review: The review is for the modification and renewal of 
the Survey of Unmanned-Aircraft-Systems Operators.
    Background: We conducted the Survey of UAS Operators for 2021 and 
2022 UAS activity under the original information collection request 
granted in March of 2021. These surveys utilized a stratified random 
sampling design with the operator's county of residence and type of 
operator as strata. The survey collected information through a 
questionnaire with 76 questions, but due to the skip logic of the 
questionnaire, the average respondent only answered 16 questions. The 
2021 and 2022 surveys received 17,736 and 22,846 responses,

[[Page 67863]]

respectively. The information from these surveys have been used to 
improve the questionnaire and inform rule making.
    This information collection request is to modify and renew the 
existing Survey of UAS Operators. The continuation of this survey is 
expected to improve the FAA's knowledge of UAS operations and better 
predict the nature of UAS operations within the national airspace 
system (NAS). The information gathered empowers the FAA to make 
informed decisions surrounding UAS operations within the NAS thereby 
supporting its mission of safety and alignment with title 49 of the 
United States Code.
    This information collection renewal asks to improve the survey 
design by expanding the target population and adding an additional 
stratum to the sampling process. The original survey's target 
population included only registered small UAS operators--operators with 
UAS weighing less than 55lbs--within the United States. The survey 
under the renewed information collection would expand the target 
population to include all UAS operators, regardless of UAS weight, by 
including UAS operators with a section 44807 exemption, which utilizes 
the aircraft registry under section 44103 as a sample frame. In 
addition, data collected from the 2021 and 2022 UAS activity surveys 
suggested that operators with larger UAS fleets have more diverse UAS 
activity than UAS operators with small fleets, who are most of the 
section 349 and part 107 registries. Therefore, to improve sampling a 
fleet-size based stratum will be added to the sampling process when a 
registry contains information on the size of the fleet, such as the 
part 107 registry. This will ensure proper sampling of operators with 
large fleets.
    Selected registrants are invited to complete a questionnaire 
regarding the operator's fleet characteristics, flight behavior, and 
overall UAS activities. The survey's questionnaire contains over 80 
questions, but due to skip logic, the average respondent will only 
answer 18 questions. Commercial and emergency response operator have 6 
and 10 additional questions, respectively, specific to their sector. We 
estimate the questionnaire requires 10 minutes on average to complete. 
Responding to the survey is voluntary, and respondents are given the 
option of opting out of the current year's survey or all future 
surveys. All collected data are anonymized and only aggregated data are 
reported, thereby protecting the identity of the respondents. The 
survey will open in November of the year for which the UAS activity is 
gathered and close on February 1st of the following year.
    Due to the changing nomenclature of this section of aviation, we 
request to change the name of the survey from the Survey of Unmanned-
Aircraft-Systems Operators to the Survey of Uncrewed-Aircraft-Systems 
Operators.
    Respondents: We expect approximately 113,000 respondents from 
across the United States over the three-years authorization of this 
information collection. The collection's sample is formed from three 
registries of UAS operators: (1) the registry of small, non-
recreational operators under Title 14, Part 107 of the Code of Federal 
Regulation, (2) the registry of small, recreational operators under 
Section 349 of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018; and (3) the 
commercial operators with section 44807 exemptions who are registered 
in the aircraft registry under title 49 of the U.S.C., section 44103 
registry.
    Frequency: Annually.
    Estimated Average Burden per Response: 10 minutes.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 6,279 hrs/yr.

    Issued in Washington, DC on September 29th, 2023.
William Ekins,
Economist, Office of Aviation Policy and Plans, APO-100, Federal 
Aviation Administration, Department of Transportation.
[FR Doc. 2023-21639 Filed 9-29-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P