In recent years, China's low altitude economy has flourished, and civil unmanned aerial vehicles (hereinafter referred to as "drones") have been deeply integrated into key fields such as logistics distribution, aerial inspection, geographic surveying, artistic performance, agricultural and forestry plant protection, and building cleaning, demonstrating enormous social and economic value. However, have you ever worried about yourself or your family walking on the street and being hit by a suddenly falling drone? Any aviation activity comes with inherent risks, and with the explosive growth of unmanned aerial vehicles, the probability of their crashes causing casualties, property damage, and even public safety incidents will increase. In this context, the importance of the parachute system as the last physical safety line of defense has risen from "enhanced selection" to "necessary guarantee".

On January 11, 2026, the Civil Aviation Administration of China officially released the "Specification for Parachute Systems of Civil Unmanned Aerial Vehicles" (MH/T6140-2026, hereinafter referred to as the "Specification"), which will be implemented on February 1, 2026. As a standard in the civil aviation industry, this document systematically fills the long-standing gap in China's standards for unmanned aerial vehicle parachute systems, providing comprehensive and mandatory technical basis for the design, production, testing, and operation of related products. This article aims to sort out and interpret the core content of the Regulation from the perspective of compliance and risk prevention, in order to clarify its legal significance, technical boundaries, and industry impact.

1、 Clarify the applicable boundaries and responsible parties, and establish a full chain legal responsibility system

At the beginning of the "Regulations", the scope of application is clearly defined, and its regulatory objects cover the entire process of design, production, verification testing, and operational risk assessment of micro, light, small, and medium-sized unmanned aerial vehicle parachute systems. This definition not only delineates the applicable boundaries of technical standards, but also sets the compliance scope for relevant market entities from a legal perspective, avoiding compliance loopholes and liability disputes caused by vague application of standards, and providing clear legal guidance for enterprises to carry out production and operation activities.

What is more noteworthy is that the "Norms" innovatively propose the concept of "subject unit", breaking through the traditional single subject responsibility identification model and expanding the scope of responsibility to parachute system design and manufacturing parties, unmanned aerial vehicle whole machine design and manufacturing parties, and unmanned aerial vehicle operators. This definition essentially constructs a 'full lifecycle responsibility chain', breaking the dilemma of fragmented responsibilities and ambiguous attribution in traditional supply chains. The "Specification" clearly requires all responsible parties to have the legal capacity to preserve and obtain key information of the parachute system (including production date, serial number, design change records, etc.), and jointly undertake obligations such as system selection, compliance testing, and document provision. This responsibility setting marks the transformation of the drone parachute field from a "single product responsibility" to a comprehensive responsibility model of "system integration+operation management", ensuring that safety responsibilities can be traced and implemented, and providing a clear basis for subsequent accident accountability and dispute resolution.

This regulation has promoted the extension of drone safety responsibility from traditional "product defect responsibility" to "system integration safety responsibility" and "operational support responsibility". It clarifies that in the parachute system, which is a safety critical component, all stakeholders in the industry chain must bear corresponding responsibilities and obligations, which helps to achieve accurate responsibility tracing after accidents occur, in line with the legislative spirit of product safety responsibility traceability in the Product Quality Law, Civil Aviation Law, and related regulations.

2、 Establish quantifiable core performance indicators and set an unbreakable safety technology bottom line

If there is a lack of quantitative standards for safety commitments, it will be difficult to use them as a legal basis for determining responsibility. The "Regulations" transform the safety requirements of drone parachutes into measurable and verifiable compliance standards by setting two core performance indicators: stable descent speed and minimum parachute opening height. This provides an objective basis for judging whether products have quality defects and violate safety obligations in judicial practice.

Stable descent speed: The "Specification" requires that the stable descent speed of the main umbrella after deployment must be measured and clearly marked under unified defined conditions of altitude of 1500 meters, standard atmospheric temperature, and wind speed not exceeding 5.4 meters per second (level 3 wind). This indicator is the core parameter for evaluating the risk of impact on ground personnel and property when a drone lands with an umbrella. Its standardized requirements make the safety performance of products from different manufacturers comparable, providing objective basis for regulatory review and user selection.

Minimum umbrella opening height: This indicator is defined as the sum of the "minimum deployment height" and the "height required for at least 1 second of stable descent". This is not simply setting a triggering height, but requires the system to have the complete ability to complete fault identification, triggering, parachute opening, and establish a stable descent state within a limited height. This regulation enforces a safety margin from a technical perspective to prevent insufficient landing buffer height due to delayed parachute deployment or lengthy processes, thereby ensuring its actual risk avoidance effectiveness.

3、 Strengthen the requirements for structural strength and system reliability, and establish a solid engineering foundation for safety design

The reliability of parachute systems is not only a technical issue, but also the core carrier of legal responsibility. The "Specification" puts forward strict requirements in terms of structural strength and component reliability, essentially setting a legal bottom line for product quality through technical standards, providing institutional guarantees for preventing product liability disputes and reducing safety risks.

In terms of strength design, the "Code" introduces the concepts of "limited load" and "ultimate load" in the aviation field, and clearly divides the safety factor level: the safety factor of parachute systems for micro, light, and small unmanned aerial vehicles is 2, and the safety factor for medium unmanned aerial vehicles with higher risks is 1.5. These mandatory regulations mean that all key components of the system (such as parachutes, parachutes, slings, catapult connection points, etc.) must have a load-bearing capacity far beyond actual operating conditions, with sufficient safety margins reserved for extreme unexpected situations. From a legal perspective, the clarification of the safety factor enables judicial authorities to directly judge whether a product has design defects based on this standard, avoiding disputes in liability determination due to a lack of quantitative basis.

In terms of component reliability, the "Specification" has detailed and targeted requirements for the four core components, fully reflecting the legal thinking of risk prevention and control. For example, the ejection system needs to meet the dual requirements of "no fire hazard" and "no signal interference" to avoid secondary risks caused by system failures; The control system is equipped with a "double insurance" mechanism, which requires the installation of an automatic triggering device (ATD) independent of the drone main system to deal with loss of control, and allows the selection of a manual triggering device (MTD) according to the operating mode, minimizing the risk of single triggering method failure. The 'Specification' requires the provision of an independent power supply to ensure that the umbrella opening action can still be completed when the main power supply fails. This regulation establishes multiple security redundancy mechanisms from a legal perspective, reduces product liability risks caused by component failures, and provides clear guidance for all parties to avoid compliance risks.

4、 Standardize verification methods and establish a practical compliance inspection system

The vitality of technical standards lies in their implementation, and standards lacking effective verification methods are difficult to form binding force at the legal level. The "Norms" have detailed the verification methods in nearly one-third of the text, and established a scientific and comprehensive compliance inspection system, providing operational basis for the mandatory implementation and responsibility determination of standards.

The umbrella opening test specified in Appendix A is the core of the verification system, which is not a simple functional test, but a comprehensive verification of product reliability through simulating real failure scenarios. The Specification clearly covers six typical failure scenarios: DC1 ground static parachute opening (verifying basic functions), DC2/DC4 full power interruption (simulating the most severe power failure), DC3/DC5 critical number engine failure (specific risks for multi rotor aircraft), DC7 stall/spin, DC8 roll failure, and DC9 direction control failure (covering complex loss of control states of different configurations of unmanned aerial vehicles).

From the perspective of compliance testing, this test requires a clear legal risk prevention and control orientation: firstly, covering boundary scenarios, exposing design defects to the maximum extent, and avoiding manufacturers from avoiding extreme working condition testing; The second is to clarify the testing conditions, requiring automatic and manual (if applicable) triggering tests to be conducted at the minimum and maximum takeoff weights respectively, to ensure the comprehensiveness of the test results; The third is to set strict qualification criteria to provide clear basis for whether the product meets the standards. This testing concept of "scenario based, boundary based, and repetitive" not only greatly improves the reliability and maturity of tested products, but also ensures that standard terms can truly be implemented for product quality, providing important basis for judging whether products meet legal standards, and providing solid support for administrative supervision and judicial accountability.

5、 Standardize human-computer interaction and information transparency, improve the entire process of security and compliance closed loop

The compliance governance perspective of the "Norms" is not limited to the hardware itself, but extends to the human-computer interaction and information transmission links. Through mandatory information disclosure and standardized operation guidelines, a complete safety and compliance loop from products to users is constructed, providing legal convenience for accident disposal and responsibility tracing.

In terms of information disclosure, the "Regulations" require that key information such as manufacturer, production date, serial number, etc. be prominently marked in the umbrella cabin or aircraft body, and prominent triangular warning signs be set up, indicating the words "danger", ejection device type, and contact information. The essence of this regulation is to implement the legal obligation of product producers to disclose information, which not only facilitates rapid emergency response and traceability of product sources after accidents occur, but also provides a visual basis for liability determination, avoiding responsibility shifting caused by information loss.

In terms of operational guidelines, the "Specification" strictly regulates the content of the parachute manual, requiring it to include detailed installation instructions, usage restrictions, inspection and maintenance procedures, and other core contents. From a legal perspective, this requirement ensures that operators can obtain sufficient operational guidance, correctly fulfill their usage and maintenance obligations, and reduce safety accidents and liability disputes caused by improper operation.

6、 Conclusion

The promulgation and implementation of the "Specification for Parachute Systems of Civil Unmanned Aerial Vehicles" (MH/T6140-2026) is a key measure taken by China's civil aviation regulatory authorities to strengthen forward-looking safety governance and guide the rational and orderly development of the industry in the early stage of high-speed low altitude economic development. It goes beyond the scope of an ordinary technical document and essentially constructs a mandatory safety compliance framework covering the entire chain of "design manufacturing testing identification use maintenance". On the one hand, the "Regulations" expel products with substandard technology and hidden dangers through unified and strict safety standards, and purify the market environment; On the other hand, it also prompts enterprises to truly place safety at the core of product development, increasing investment in systems engineering, testing and verification, and safety culture. This move will effectively curb the phenomenon of "bad money driving out good money" in the early stage of the low altitude economy market due to some businesses competing to reduce costs, promote safe and reliable parachute systems to become industry standard, provide clear basis for administrative supervision, and provide objective standards for judicial accountability.

With the official implementation of the "Regulations" next month, the safety and compliance level of China's drone industry will be significantly improved, thereby building a solid legal and technological dual security barrier for high-quality and sustainable development of the low altitude economy, and helping the low altitude economy steadily move forward on the track of the rule of law!