A uas pilot operating near luf realized he was flying in alert area A-231; but thought it was legal ...

Narrative:

I was operating my drone under part 107 during an aerial photography mission. On initial setup I checked the FAA B4UFLY app and noticed that the area I was currently in was restricted. Once I checked under the reasons why it informed me that it was due to alert area A-231. I then checked my terminal area chart on foreflight to see what the restrictions were for A-231 and found out that it was from 500 AGL to 6500 MSL. The operation I intended to perform was only going to be up to 100 AGL and I quickly glanced to make sure I was not in conflict with any other airspace and under the B shelf. Having done most of my flight training in phoenix I felt that I was certain that it was acceptable to operate my drone. After no conflicts and completing the flight; then proceeded to another property located a street over. Again I was prompted that flight was restricted due to A-231; again I continued to proceed cautiously. After performing 3 operations all within the same area I stopped for the day. Later that evening it bothered me that I didn't understand why I was getting a restricted message and I looked at the terminal chart once again. I then noticed that next to the A-231 boundary there is an satr (special air traffic rules) starting at the surface and up to 4000. The satr states that all aircraft need to establish two-way communication with and maintain communication with luke app while operating in the airspace. It is then; that I realized that I may have been in conflict with this satr and right on the border of the defining limits. My previous flight experience in the area lead me into a trap of not checking the airspace as closely as I should have because the satr is new since I last operated flights in the area. Going further; I need to pay extra caution to all available information including the B4UFLY app to avoid any further conflicts.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A UAS pilot operating near LUF realized he was flying in Alert Area A-231; but thought it was legal below 500 feet. He later discovered he may have been operating in the Special Air Traffic Rules Area within A-231 which requires prior communication with ATC.

Narrative: I was operating my drone under part 107 during an aerial photography mission. On initial setup I checked the FAA B4UFLY app and noticed that the area I was currently in was restricted. Once I checked under the reasons why it informed me that it was due to Alert Area A-231. I then checked my terminal area chart on Foreflight to see what the restrictions were for A-231 and found out that it was from 500 AGL to 6500 MSL. The operation I intended to perform was only going to be up to 100 AGL and I quickly glanced to make sure I was not in conflict with any other airspace and under the B shelf. Having done most of my flight training in Phoenix I felt that I was certain that it was acceptable to operate my drone. After no conflicts and completing the flight; then proceeded to another property located a street over. Again I was prompted that flight was restricted due to A-231; again I continued to proceed cautiously. After performing 3 operations all within the same area I stopped for the day. Later that evening it bothered me that I didn't understand why I was getting a restricted message and I looked at the terminal chart once again. I then noticed that next to the A-231 boundary there is an SATR (Special Air Traffic Rules) starting at the surface and up to 4000. The SATR states that all aircraft need to establish two-way communication with and maintain communication with LUKE APP while operating in the airspace. It is then; that I realized that I may have been in conflict with this SATR and right on the border of the defining limits. My previous flight experience in the area lead me into a trap of not checking the airspace as closely as I should have because the SATR is new since I last operated flights in the area. Going further; I need to pay extra caution to all available information including the B4UFLY app to avoid any further conflicts.

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.

Attributes
ACN	1417908
Time
Date	201701
Local Time Of Day	0601-1200
Place
Locale Reference	LUF.Airport
State Reference	AZ
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	UAV - Unpiloted Aerial Vehicle
Operating Under FAR Part	Other 107
Flight Phase	Cruise
Route In Use	None
Flight Plan	None
Person 1
Function	Single Pilot
Qualification	Flight Crew Flight Instructor Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Multiengine
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 179 Flight Crew Total 7138 Flight Crew Type 4
Events
Anomaly	Airspace Violation All Types Deviation - Procedural Clearance Deviation - Procedural FAR Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy

A uas pilot operating near luf realized he was flying in alert area A-231; but thought it was legal below 500 feet. He later discovered he may have been operating in the special air traffic rules area within A-231 which requires prior communication with ATC.