Per AC 107-2A § 8.4.4, what happens if a small unmanned aircraft eligible for Category 2 operations is modified in a way not permitted by its remote pilot operating instructions?

Why: AC 107-2A § 8.4.4, p. 8-11, states that any person who makes a modification not permissible by the remote pilot operating instructions renders the aircraft ineligible, and if that person wants to resume Category 2 or 3 operations, they take on an applicant's responsibilities, including submitting a new declaration of compliance.

• Weight is not the deciding factor; Category 2/3 eligibility turns on the performance-based kinetic-energy and rotating-parts requirements of § 107.120(a), and any modification not listed as allowable in the operating instructions — not only weight-changing ones — voids eligibility.
• There is no automatic "downgrade" mechanism described in AC § 8.4.4; the aircraft simply becomes ineligible for operations over people until a new declaration of compliance is accepted for whatever category it can still meet.