Narrative:

Aircraft X (a drone) was being switched to my frequency as I was getting a relief briefing. The previous sector was having difficulty switching the aircraft; and after he was about 10 miles into our airspace; he finally checked on. The briefing I was given was the pilot was supposed to give me a 10 min warning before he started dropping buoys out of his airplane; and that he needed a 20 mile radius with no airplanes. Aircraft X then asked to start dropping the buoys in 3 min (not the 10 min warning I was briefed) and that he wanted the 20 mile radius. As I tried to get more information on the buoys; size; shape; how many; if they go all the way to the ground; the only information the pilot was able to tell me was that he wanted to drop one every 10 min. I told him he was not authorized to drop at that moment; that I had to move airplanes out of his way and that I would let him know when he could drop the first one. I moved the airplanes; and tried to call him up and I did not receive a response. I tried him three more times and let the controller in charge know what was going on (although; he heard me and already had an idea of what was going on). He got the OM (operations manager) involved; who then called to the pilot on the phone. The pilot said that he was having communication issues. Once the pilot reported back on my frequency; I informed him that I had built him the 20 mile hole that he had requested; but that I could not get ahold of him. If he requests to be dropping things out of the airplane with a 20 mile sterilized airspace; then he has to be in communication with me and monitoring the frequency. I authorized the first drop and switched him to the next sector. As I went to get the call sign; a different OM was working the desk and I explained the situation. He told me that they don't need 20 miles; he has no idea where that came from; and that they are authorized to drop the buoys out of the airplane. The 10 min warning is just as a heads up and he is responsible solely for the release of the instruments. The buoys are small and if they run into another airplane; no harm will come to them. He then proceeded to tell me that I had no authority to tell the pilot that he could not drop the buoys. He pulled up the section of the 7110.65 and showed it to me. That is all great and wonderful; but that information would have served me and the drone pilot much better prior to this incident. Regardless of the rules and regulations; the pilot must be able to communicate with ATC if he is going to be flying.training! Controllers need to be made aware of the situation fully; not just an 'oh by the way' moment. No one in my area; including the controller in charge or OM; had any idea how to handle the situation. Even if there was no time to give a formal briefing to everyone that could be working that aircraft; information could have been properly given to the controllers immediately before the aircraft checked on the frequency. The OM that I had spoken to after the incident was annoyed that I didn't know that it was ok for a drone to throw things out of his airplane. And that it was ridiculous that I was trying to clear a 20 mile hole for the aircraft. That he had no idea where I had been given that information from. He was shocked to hear that the pilot of the aircraft was asking for it and that I should have known better than to give it to him.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Denver Center Controller reported of miscommunication and a lack of communication with a UAV pilot. The Controller was advised of a special request in which was not valid. The Operations Manager advised the Controller of what needed to be done.

Narrative: Aircraft X (a drone) was being switched to my frequency as I was getting a relief briefing. The previous sector was having difficulty switching the aircraft; and after he was about 10 miles into our airspace; he finally checked on. The briefing I was given was the pilot was supposed to give me a 10 min warning before he started dropping buoys out of his airplane; and that he needed a 20 mile radius with no airplanes. Aircraft X then asked to start dropping the buoys in 3 min (not the 10 min warning I was briefed) and that he wanted the 20 mile radius. As I tried to get more information on the buoys; size; shape; how many; if they go all the way to the ground; the only information the pilot was able to tell me was that he wanted to drop one every 10 min. I told him he was not authorized to drop at that moment; that I had to move airplanes out of his way and that I would let him know when he could drop the first one. I moved the airplanes; and tried to call him up and I did not receive a response. I tried him three more times and let the CIC know what was going on (although; he heard me and already had an idea of what was going on). He got the OM (Operations Manager) involved; who then called to the pilot on the phone. The pilot said that he was having communication issues. Once the pilot reported back on my frequency; I informed him that I had built him the 20 mile hole that he had requested; but that I could not get ahold of him. If he requests to be dropping things out of the airplane with a 20 mile sterilized airspace; then he has to be in communication with me and monitoring the frequency. I authorized the first drop and switched him to the next sector. As I went to get the call sign; a different OM was working the desk and I explained the situation. He told me that they don't need 20 miles; he has no idea where that came from; and that they are authorized to drop the buoys out of the airplane. The 10 min warning is just as a heads up and he is responsible solely for the release of the instruments. The buoys are small and if they run into another airplane; no harm will come to them. He then proceeded to tell me that I had no authority to tell the pilot that he could not drop the buoys. He pulled up the section of the 7110.65 and showed it to me. That is all great and wonderful; but that information would have served me and the drone pilot much better prior to this incident. Regardless of the rules and regulations; the pilot must be able to communicate with ATC if he is going to be flying.TRAINING! Controllers need to be made aware of the situation fully; not just an 'Oh by the way' moment. No one in my area; including the CIC or OM; had any idea how to handle the situation. Even if there was no time to give a formal briefing to everyone that could be working that aircraft; information could have been properly given to the controllers immediately before the aircraft checked on the frequency. The OM that I had spoken to after the incident was annoyed that I didn't know that it was ok for a drone to throw things out of his airplane. And that it was ridiculous that I was trying to clear a 20 mile hole for the aircraft. That he had no idea where I had been given that information from. He was shocked to hear that the pilot of the aircraft was asking for it and that I should have known better than to give it to him.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.