The GCAA’s procedures for Remotely-Piloted Aircraft system use in Ghana

Below are procedures outlined by the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) for the use of Remotely-Piloted Aircraft system (RPAs) in the country.

Customs Clearance/Importation

In accordance with GCAD Part 28 Subsection 28.1(17) no person shall import an RPAS without the written approval of the Authority. The procedure to carry out this directive is as follows:

• The applicant shall apply using Application Form R28-AF-001. If the purpose of the RPAS is for other than recreational purposes, a Cover Letter on company letterhead shall be attached to the form indicating the purpose of the RPAS. This letter shall be addressed to the Director-General (Attention: Director, Safety Regulation), Ghana Civil Aviation Authority, KIA, Accra, Ghana and signed by an accountable executive.

• The applicant shall pay the requisite charges as per the Scheme of Charges.

• The Authority shall issue a Clearance Letter to Ghana Customs.

• The Authority shall also issue a letter to the applicant on the requirement for the registration of RPAS and certification, where applicable.

• The RPAS shall then be registered after clearing customs as per the “Approval Process for Recreational and Private Operations.”

• If intended for commercial purposes, the organisation shall first have to be taken through certification as detailed in the “Approval Process for Commercial Operations”. In such a case, the RPAS shall be registered under the recreational category until the completion of the certification process after which its category would be changed to the commercial category.

Approval Process for Recreational and Private Operations

In accordance with GCAD Part 28 Subsection 28.1(17) no person shall operate an RPAS without the written approval of the Authority. The procedure to carry out this directive for small and light RPAS is as follows:

• The applicant shall apply using Application Form R28-AF-003. If the purpose of the RPAS is for private purposes, a Cover Letter on company letterhead shall be attached to the form indicating the purpose of the RPAS. This letter shall be addressed to the Director-General (Attention: Director, Safety Regulation), Ghana Civil Aviation Authority, KIA, Accra, Ghana and signed by an accountable executive.

• The assigned GCAA personnel(s) shall conduct an inspection of the RPAS and subsequently register it after successful inspection using Checklist R28-CL-001. Note that the registration number shall be preceded by 9GR, followed by hyphen, a number and three (3) alphabetical characters (E.g. 9GR-1AAA).

• The registration number is generated sequentially but an applicant may request a special registration number. This special number will still retain the format of registration numbers as indicated above.

• The applicant shall pay the requisite charges as per the Scheme of Charges.

• A Letter of Approval shall be issued by the Authority. The Approval shall be printed on GCAA Security Sheet.

• The approval is valid for one year from the date of issue unless otherwise revoked, suspended or amended

Approval Process for Commercial Operations

In accordance with GCAD Part 28 Subsection 28.1(8), no person shall operate an RPAS for commercial purposes unless the person holds an RPAS Operating Certificate (ROC) issued by the Authority. The procedure to carry out this directive is as follows:

• The applicant may download the documents in the folder “RPAS Guidance for Commercial Operations”.

• The applicant may complete the included RPAS POPS Form and submit together with a Cover Letter on company letterhead, signed by an Accountable Executive to the Director-General, (Attention: Director, Safety Regulation) Ghana Civil Aviation, KIA, Accra, Ghana.

• The applicant shall be taken through the applicable certification process as per certification Checklist R28-CL-002.

• The applicant shall pay the requisite certification charges.

• At the end of the certification, the applicant may be issued or denied the RPAS Operating Certificate.

• The approval is valid for one year from the date of issue unless otherwise revoked, suspended or amended.

• The applicant is required to submit the RPAS POPS Form, at least, sixty (60) days before the intended start of operations.

Approval Process for Flights above 400ft Above Ground Level (AGL) and Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) Operations

In accordance with GCAD Part 28 Subsections 28.1(12) and 28.1(13) operators of RPAS shall not fly above 400 feet AGL without prior notification and approval by the Authority and recreational and private RPAS operators shall be limited to Visual Line of Sight (VLOS) operations unless otherwise permitted by the Authority. The procedure to approve this operation is as follows:

• The applicant shall apply using Application Form R28-AF-006. If the purpose of the RPAS is for private purposes, a Cover Letter on company letterhead shall be attached to the form indicating the purpose of the RPAS. This letter shall be addressed to the Director-General (Attention: Director, Safety Regulation), Ghana Civil Aviation Authority, KIA, Accra, Ghana and signed by an accountable executive.

• Applicable charges shall be paid by the applicant as per the Scheme of Charges.

• The applicant shall be taken through the applicable approval process.

• As stated in GCAD Part 28 Subsections 28.1.(14), the approval process shall to the extent possible follow the requirements of “Approval Process for Commercial Operations”.

• At the end of the approval process, the applicant may be issued or denied the Authorisation.

• The approval is valid for one year from the date of issue unless otherwise revoked, suspended or amended

Approval Process for Special Authorisation

In accordance with GCAD Part 28 Subsection 28.4(1), no person shall operate an RPAS in categories denoted by the Directives as needing special authorization without prior approval from the Authority. The procedure to approve this authorization is as follows:

• The applicant shall apply to the Director-General, Ghana Civil Aviation Authority, KIA, Accra, Ghana using Application Form R28-AF-007. If the purpose of the RPAS is for private purposes, a Cover Letter on company letterhead shall be attached to the form indicating the purpose of the RPAS. This letter shall be addressed to the Director-General (Attention: Director, Safety Regulation), Ghana Civil Aviation Authority, KIA, Accra, Ghana and signed by an accountable executive.

• The applicant shall be taken through the applicable approval process using the Checklist R28-CL-004: The carriage of goods, carriage of dangerous goods, Banner towing, Dropping and discharging of things; Night Operations; Cross border operations; Hazardous operations; Acrobatic, formation and racing flight; Operations in the restricted areas of aerodromes; Operations in areas of high RF transmission/interference (e.g. radar sites, high tension wires);

• At the end of the approval process, the applicant may be issued or denied the authorization.

• The approval is valid for one year from the date of issue unless otherwise revoked, suspended or amended.

• Applicable charges shall be paid by the applicant as per the Scheme of Charges.

• It is required of applicants to submit the request for Special Authorisation at least thirty (30) days prior to the date of start of intended operations.

Procedure for Pilot and Pilot Instructor Licensing

In accordance with GCAD Part 28 Subsections 28.9(2) and 28.9(3), pilots for commercial RPAS operations, pilots of large RPAS and pilots of RPAS with type certificate shall be required to obtain a Remote Pilot Licence. Also, as per GCAD Part 28 Subsection 28.9(11) no person shall act as an RPAS instructor unless authorized by the Authority. See the following for the procedure to satisfy the above:

• The applicant shall apply to the Director-General, Ghana Civil Aviation Authority, KIA, Accra, Ghana using Application Form R28-AF-008. If the purpose of the license is for other than recreational purposes, a Cover Letter on company letterhead shall be attached to the form introducing the applicant for the license. This letter shall be addressed to the Director-General (Attention: Director, Safety Regulation), Ghana Civil Aviation Authority, KIA, Accra, Ghana and signed by an accountable executive.

• The applicant shall be taken through the applicable approval process as per Checklist R28-CL-005.

• Applicable charges shall be paid by the applicant as per the Scheme of Charges.

• At the end of the approval process, the applicant may be issued or denied the RPAS Pilot or RPAS Pilot Instructor License as applicable.

• The approval is valid for as per the relevant conditions stated in GCAD Part 28 unless otherwise revoked, suspended or amended.

• The License shall be printed on GCAA security sheets.

Procedure for Approval for Sale of RPAS

In accordance with GCAD Part 28 Subsections 28.1(17) no person shall sell an RPAS without the written approval of the Authority. The procedure to grant this authorisation is as follows:

• The applicant shall apply using Form R28-AF-011.

• A Cover Letter on company letterhead shall be attached to the form introducing the company and stating the inventory of each RPAS type. This letter shall be addressed to the Director-General (Attention: Director, Safety Regulation), Ghana Civil Aviation Authority, KIA, Accra, Ghana and signed by an accountable executive.

• An inspection of at least one of the RPAS type shall be conducted before approval or permit is granted.

• The applicant shall be briefed by GCAA on the procedure for sale of RPAS:
  1. Get a copy of the buyer’s valid government issued photo I.D.;
  2. Get the contact details of the buyer;
  3. Attach a flier to each RPAS sold;
  4. Direct the buyer to GCAA for registration of the RPAS; and
  5. Submit to the GCAA on a quarterly basis, the list of buyers within the elapsed month together with the details collected in “a” and “b” above.

• Applicable charges shall be paid by the applicant as per the Scheme of Charges.

• A Certificate of Approval shall be issued by the Authority.

• A Specifications page will be attached to the Certificate of Approval detailing the RPAS allowed to be sold by the applicant.

• The approval is valid for one year from the date of issue unless otherwise revoked, suspended or amended.

• If during the year, the applicant increases inventory or wishes to add another RPAS type, the applicant shall make this known to GCAA.

Procedure for Change of Ownership of an RPAS

In accordance with GCAD Part 28 Subsection 28.6(1), all RPAS need to be registered. A situation may arise where the ownership of the RPAS needs to be changed. In such a case, the following procedure is to be applied:

• The applicant shall apply using Form R28-AF-012. If the new purpose of the RPAS is for other than recreational purposes, a Cover Letter on company letterhead shall be attached to the form indicating the purpose of the RPAS. This letter shall be addressed to the Director-General (Attention: Director, Safety Regulation), Ghana Civil Aviation Authority, KIA, Accra, Ghana and signed by an accountable executive.

• GCAA shall effect the change in its database.

• The applicant shall pay the applicable charges as per the Scheme of Charges.

• If intended for commercial purposes, the organisation shall first have to be taken through certification as detailed in the “Approval Process for Commercial Operations”. In such a case, the RPAS shall be registered under the recreational category until the completion of the certification process after which its category would be changed to the commercial category.

• The applicant may choose to retain the old registration or request for a new special registration number. Note that the registration number shall be preceded by 9GR, followed by hyphen, a number and three (3) alphabetical characters (E.g. 9GR-1AAA).

• The special number will still retain the format of registration numbers as indicated above.

• The approval is valid for one year from the date of issue unless otherwise revoked, suspended or amended.

RPAS Associations/Clubs

In accordance with GCAD Part 28 Subsections 28.1(23) all RPAS associations, clubs and the like shall notify in writing of their existence to the GCAA within three (3) months of its formation. The procedure for this is as follows:

• The club shall inform the GCAA via a letter. This letter shall be addressed to the Director-General (Attention: Director, Safety Regulation), Ghana Civil Aviation Authority, KIA, Accra, Ghana and signed by an accountable executive.

• GCAA would require certain information from the applicant as described in the Response Sample Letter R28-SL-012.

• The applicant should then respond to the Authority’s request.

• The GCAA shall acknowledge receipt.