Part 107 UAS pilot reported flying without proper LAANC authorization.
Synopsis
Part 107 UAS pilot reported flying without proper LAANC authorization.
Narrative
As the Remote Pilot in Command (RPIC) on the date(s) of the incident I was operating a recently acquired DJI Mavic 3 Enterprise; which has a weight of approximately 2 pounds. It was daytime; sunny; very little wind; and partly cloudy skies.I have used FAA DroneZone successfully in the past so as soon as I was asked to fly the subject site; I applied for a FAA DroneZone airspace application (about 2 days prior to the requested mission date) at the subject property; and the requested altitude was for 400 ft. AGL for up to 15 minutes in total airtime above the LAANC approvable altitudes. This request was followed by a 2nd second request for an alternate date when it looked like the 1st application was going to expire.LAANC approval in the area I wanted to fly happened to be at 'T' like intersection of the (3) different allowed altitudes; 200 ft.; 100 ft. and 50 ft.; each which required a separate application for LAANC approval in the Airbus UTM (Unmanned Traffic Management) app I was using through the Airdata flight management platform (so 3 LAANC applications for each day). The 200 ft. altitude is a wide swath of airspace on the north end of my planned mission area. The 50 ft. airspace is south of; and abuts; the 200 ft. airspace; as does the 100 ft. airspace; which is to the west of the 50 ft. airspace.It should be noted that I live in community immediately adjacent to the planned mission location; also within the 200 ft. AGL airspace; and that I felt confident about the air traffic patterns in the immediate area due to regular observation.The planned mission area was split between in the 200 ft. airspace and then a portion that extended about 750 ft. south into the 100 ft. and 50 ft. altitude areas. Of note regarding the mission location within the 50 ft. airspace; it was on the west end of the 50 ft. airspace block and there is a 110 ft. cell tower that stands between the end of the mission area and the ZZZ airport which is further (laterally) to the east. ZZZ has one runway; about 1 NM from the mission site and the approaches to the runways are to/from the NE and SW.Because ZZZ is LAANC enabled; I was not able to request FAA DroneZone approval for more than a single day at a time; So I had to make two (2) separate applications to apply for two (2) separate dates because I wanted the flexibility to fly all areas at the same altitude as well as to briefly ascend to 400 ft. AGL.Day #1 for which I had applied to fly through FAA DroneZone came and went without an approval or denial. At this point I had already obtained a DJI zone unlocked my drone; which covers 3 days; and I was excited to try out the preprogrammed mapping feature. I planned a short flight at 400 ft. AGL into the remote controller for one of the flights I expected to undertake (this was the first time I'd attempted to create a mapping mission in the flight app; due to it being a new drone and completely different user interface from my DJI Mavic 2 Pro).Because the 1st FAA DroneZone application expired; I did not fly on day #1. Needing to get the job done; I obtained a LAANC approval for the subject site for the following day (day #2) hoping I'd still be approved for the 2nd FAA DroneZone application as a backup; which was still pending (for day #4). With the DJI zone still unlocked; I had a VO with me and flew on day #2 under the LAANC approval and at various altitudes up to 200 ft. After reviewing the imagery; I was asked by the client to return to the site and modify some of the angles to try to capture better views on day #4; because the weather was bad and unflyable on day #3. The deadline the client needed imagery by was on day #5.While awaiting FAA DroneZone approval during day #4; I obtained LAANC approvals in case FAA DroneZone didn't come through; and I added a new DJI zone unlock (for another 3 days). Unfortunately for me; the 2nd FAA DroneZone application; which would have covered day #4's flights up to 400 ft. AGL; expired due to it not being reviewed before the end of the requested day; just like it had on the first attempt.Day #4 was overcast; but the cloud level and wind in the mid-afternoon was acceptable and low altitude visibility was still good enough to fly. It was at this point I began to feel some pressure to deliver good imagery for a new client. I flew on day #4 at various elevations to obtain the requested angles. The overall flight time using the new drone was shorter than day #2. The flight plan included an alternate mapping mission that was planned at a lower altitude than the original one at 400 ft. AGL. During the mission the new drone ascended and descended much quicker than my old Mavic 2 Pro; so I found myself popping up over 200 ft. AGL much quicker at times during flight. When I got to the point of starting a series of mapping photos; I realized I was too high; about 250 ft. AGL; so I stopped; descended and tried to create a new preprogrammed version at just under 200 ft. AGL. It seemed to work; and I flew the mapping flight at about 197 ft. AGL. While everything went smoothly; the area I wanted to cover ended up in a couple of hundred feet of lateral deviation from the 200 ft. AGL airspace into the adjacent lower altitude airspace before the mission completed.Upon review of; and working through; the imagery late into the evening of day #4; and early morning of day #5; I struggled to get my imagery software to make the mapping images from the new drone to stitch together in a way that looked normal; thought the area covered matched what the client wanted; and I didn't want to send a sub-par image to the client.On day #5; the client's deadline date; I was working on a few hours of sleep and tried again in the morning to get the imagery to work; but the imagery wasn't coming together. I knew that the weather was better on day #5; so thought to myself that I could probably run a quick flight from the area adjacent to the site near where I lived and get back to my home to send the fixed imagery to the client before the deadline. In that moment I also recalled that I still had a valid DJI unlock; so I hurried over to my launch point; pulled up the preprogrammed mapping mission and launched the drone.I thought I'd taken the right precautions; I'd preprogrammed the flight to be at 197 ft. AGL; I didn't see any manned aircraft in the area; the weather was clear; the wind was nearly calm.I was in a hurry; under pressure & stressing about the software and imagery. I was overly tired; and I was still somewhat unfamiliar with the navigation screens for preprogrammed mapping mission on the remote controller because it was a new flight app. Despite these warning flags; and in that moment; I felt confident in my past experiences; and I launched anyway. Unfortunately; in this rush to launch; I launched the original preprogrammed mapping mission at 400 ft. AGL; not the one at 200 ft. AGL. I didn't realize this mistake until near the end of the approximately 7-minute mission; as I was watching the airspace and only occasionally looking at the controller. Since I didn't see any manned aircraft nearby; so when mission completed I immediately landed the drone.I rushed home; feeling very uneasy about what had just happened. Upon logging into my computer; I realized that in the moments leading up to the flight I had assumed that my DJI zone unlock and LAANC approvals were both still valid since I had requested so many of them during the course of the previous days. Since I wasn't originally planning to fly on day #5; I had in fact failed to request a new LAANC clearance prior to the day #5 flight. I couldn't believe what I had just done. I know had two preventable violations and I didn't know what to do. So even though it occurred after the flight; I felt obligated to request; and I received; LAANC approvals for the mission area for day #5. It didn't make me feel any better; so after more research; I found the NASA ASRS report. I felt obligated to file this report because I know what happened was a mistake; and one which I won't make again.I was tired; stressed; and rushing to get my project done. I incorrectly assumed that because I lived close to the mission site; I knew the air traffic patterns and could still conduct this very short flight safely given my state of being. Looking back; I used very poor judgement that not only could have endangered other aviators; but very well could cost me my license and who know what other penalties from the FAA. I've never considered myself to be someone who would make these mistakes; as I've never had any issue or incidents to-date. That said; I've also never flown in that type of mental and physical state. I've always taken safety very seriously and thought of myself as someone who performed well under pressure. This incident has changed that perception.I'm the only one to blame for these mistakes. I know that planning; drone and flight app familiarity; setting client expectations; and safety are ultimately my responsibility. While it's possible no one noticed what happened; and I am not aware that my actions resulted in any incidents; this flight was [not] worth that risk that I took. I wish I would have just told the client that I couldn't get the final image. In doing so I would not have potentially endangered others; and I would have maintained a better safety record; had a clear conscious about being compliant with FAA regulations.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.