The European Commission has published a new regulation, Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1821, which adopts a classification list of incidents and the obligation to report them under the mandatory reporting schemes established in Regulation (EU) 376/2014.
Given the technological and operational differences between UAS and manned aircraft, the regulation includes a separate annex for UAS that covers the specific incidents relevant to UAS operations, in order to distinguish incidents unique to UAS, while maintaining the integrity of the existing classifications for manned aircraft.
The mandatory reporting of incidents related to UAS operations should be limited to UAS operations that present a significant risk to aviation safety, in line with the risk-based approach established in Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 of the European Parliament and of the Council. Pursuant to Article 56(1) and (5) of that Regulation, UAS operations requiring a certificate or design declaration inherently have a higher risk profile (certified category) due to complex operating environments, higher-performance aircraft, or interactions with manned aircraft. These UAS operations require mandatory reporting of safety-related incidents to ensure the detection and mitigation of risks.
In contrast, UAS operations not requiring a certificate or declaration are excluded from reporting to the incident list. This targeted approach ensures that reporting obligations remain proportionate to the level of risk while maintaining consistency with the existing EU framework for aviation safety.
It is also important to consider the risks in new scenarios, such as UAS operations in U-Space airspace. Given the nature of the risks associated with U-Space operations, particularly in urban and densely populated environments, events such as a collision or loss of control could pose a significant threat to the safety of people and property on the ground, as well as to other airspace users.
The anticipated increase in UAS operations within U-Space exacerbates these risks, making notification, as set out in Regulation (EU) 376/2014, essential for the timely detection of hazards, risk mitigation, and the prevention of accidents and incidents.
The list of notifiable events is extensive; therefore, we recommend consulting Annex VI of the aforementioned Regulation, which lists those related to unmanned aircraft. They are classified as follows:
- Air Operations
- Technical Events
- ATM Interaction
- Emergencies and other critical situations
- External environment and meteorology
- U-Space related events
- Information security
- Any other event or human action, including fatigue, inadequate training/qualification of operator personnel, and inadequate communication between crew members, that has directly contributed, or could have contributed, to an accident or serious incident.
