During a flight, a remote pilot in command (RPIC) is also acting as the person manipulating the flight controls. A visual observer (VO) is assisting. The RPIC's primary responsibility is to:

Part 107 makes the remote pilot in command directly responsible for the operation of the small unmanned aircraft, and the governing obligation is that the operation not endanger the life or property of another. Every other duty in the rule sits underneath that one: yielding to other aircraft, staying within visual line of sight, observing altitude and speed limits, and refusing to operate in conditions that would create a hazard all serve it. Framing the responsibility this way resolves the conflicts that arise in practice. The client wants a particular shot; the schedule is tight; the aircraft is expensive and the pilot would rather not lose it. None of those outrank the safety obligation, and the remote pilot in command holds final authority to decline, abort or land regardless of who is paying. Delegating that judgment to an observer, a client, or an automated system does not transfer the responsibility, which remains with the remote pilot in command throughout.

Part 107 makes the remote pilot in command responsible for the operation, with the overriding duty that it not endanger the life or property of another.

Part 107 designates a remote pilot in command with final authority and responsibility for the operation, including the duty not to operate in a manner that endangers the life or property of another.

Endanger No One. Every other rule in Part 107 is a way of doing that.

Responsibility cannot be delegated to an observer, a client or an automated system. Questions often test exactly that.

• •Ranking a specific rule above the general safety duty
• •Deferring safety decisions to an observer or client
• •Treating the aircraft's value as a factor in an emergency