During a construction progress flight, a remote pilot notices the drone's downward-facing obstacle sensor is reporting intermittent errors in the controller app. The current flight has 4 minutes of mission remaining and the drone is at 200 feet AGL over an open graded area. What is the correct action?

Why →Part 107 places on the remote PIC the continuous duty to determine the aircraft is in a condition for safe operation. An intermittent sensor fault is a material change to the pre-flight condition the pilot accepted. The correct response is to land, diagnose, and either resolve or abort. Continuing a flight with a known fault transfers risk to the next phase of flight where landing becomes mandatory.

The trap →The reasoning that the drone is above the sensor's effective range sounds logical (sensor is not active at altitude), but every flight ends with a landing, and the landing is exactly when the faulty sensor matters most. Deferring diagnosis until landing phase is the opposite of sound aeronautical decision-making.

Field note →Document the fault in your logbook with timestamps. If the drone is under warranty or part of a fleet, this is the evidence the manufacturer or fleet manager will want.