Title: Assessing ground risk buffer compliance of agriculture drones in urban air applications under the SORA framework

Authors: Tamer Savas

Addresses: Department of Flight Training, Eskisehir Technical University, Eskisehir, Turkey

Abstract: The increasing number of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in commercial operations has underscored the need for precise operational safety measures. Within the specific operations risk assessment (SORA) framework, the ground risk buffer (GRB) defines horizontal safety margins to limit harm to people on the ground in loss-of-control scenarios. This study systematically compares two established GRB calculation methods, the SORA 1:1 rule and a simplified ballistic model, using rotary-wing agricultural UAVs (DJI Agras series) across a range of altitudes (10-100 m) and speeds (5-20 m/s). The results demonstrate that horizontal speed is the dominant factor affecting GRB values. The 1:1 approach provides a simple conservative estimate for low-speed missions but becomes restrictive at higher speeds, while the ballistic model remains an idealised approximation needing refinement. The study provides a model-by-model comparison on representative UAV platforms, demonstrating the operational implications and trade-offs of conservative GRB assumptions.

Keywords: SORA; ground risk buffer; GRB; ballistic approach; unmanned aerial vehicle; UAV; safety.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSA.2026.154423

International Journal of Sustainable Aviation, 2026 Vol.12 No.2, pp.123 - 164

Received: 06 Oct 2025
Accepted: 25 Feb 2026
Published online: 27 Jun 2026 *

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