[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 236 (Monday, December 11, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 85967-85968]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-27056]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

[Docket No. 2020-0488]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Requests for Comments; 
Clearance of Renewed Approval of Information Collection: Survey of 
Unmanned-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 Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period 
soliciting comments on the following collection of information was 
published on October 02, 2022. The 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

[[Page 85968]]

guide investment in UAS research and infrastructure.

DATES: Written comments should be submitted by January 11th, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed 
information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of 
this notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular 
information collection by selecting ``Currently under 30-day Review--
Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search function.

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.
    OMB Control Number: 2120-0797.
    Title: Survey of Unmanned-Aircraft-Systems Operators.
    Form Numbers: 1 Online Questionnaire per Respondent.
    Type of Review: The review is for the renewal of the Survey of 
Unmanned-Aircraft-Systems Operators.
    Background: The Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment 
period soliciting comments on the following collection of information 
was published on October 02, 2023 (88 FR 67862).
    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 
activity surveys received 17,736 and 22,846 responses, respectively. 
The information from these surveys have been used to improve the 
questionnaire and inform rule making.
    This request to modify and renew the information collection is to 
continue and improve the support of the FAA's mission of safety and 
aligns with Title 49 of the United States Code. The objective of this 
collection is to improve the FAA 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.
    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 55 lbs--within the United States. The survey 
under the renewed information collection would expand the target 
population to include all UAS, regardless of 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 UAS larger fleets have more diverse UAS activity than 
UAS operators with small fleets, who are most of the section 349 and 
part 107 registries. To improve the sampling of UAS operators, 
operators with larger fleets with receive equal sampling to UAS 
operators with small fleets by adding a fleet-size stratum to the 
sampling process when a registry contains information on the size of 
the fleet, such as the part 107 registry.
    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. 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 just 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 for 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 December 6th, 2023.
William Ekins,
Economist, Federal Aviation Administration, Office of Aviation Policy 
and Plans.
[FR Doc. 2023-27056 Filed 12-8-23; 8:45 am]
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