Independent report

AAIB Record-only investigations reviewed: February - March 2024

Published 9 May 2024

This section provides details of accidents and incidents which were not subject to a Field or full Correspondence Investigation. They are wholly, or largely, based on information provided by the aircraft commander at the time of reporting and in some cases additional information from other sources. The accuracy of the information provided cannot be assured.

Event date	Aircraft Type	Location Name	Record Only Occurrence Text
21 Sep 2023	UAS DJI M300 RTK	Whiteside, West Lothian	While being used by an energy company to inspect electrical power lines, the UA lost contact with its controller. The UA struck the power line conductor structure, and fell to the ground.
26 Dec 2023	UAS MA Mini Chevron	Weston-super-Mare, Somerset	The 0.9 kg model aircraft was being flown from an established model flying club site adjacent to a private road at the end of a lane. The pilot lost control of the aircraft, which struck the ground about 200 m away in a field next to, and at the boundary with, the lane.
11 Jan 2024	UAS DJI Mini SE	Forest Mill, Clackmannanshire	The UA was flying above a river at a height of approximately 18 m when the control signal was lost. The UA struck a tree and, although the remote pilot regained control and tried to fly it out from within the branches, it fell into the river.
31 Jan 2024	UAS DJI M30T	Derby	A remote pilot was allocated a high priority search task. The UAS had 15 mins of battery life remaining, but the pilot believed he could complete the task within that time. Approximately 12 minutes after takeoff, the Return To Home (RTH) alarm activated. The pilot cancelled the RTH alarm in the belief that the task could still be completed. Shortly after, with insufficient battery power remaining, the UA started to land autonomously. Due to its proximity to obstacles the pilot attempted to fly the UA away from them, but it struck some small trees and fell to the ground.
21 Feb 2024	UAS DJI M30T	Stoke South Junction, Staffordshire	After completing inspections on several sets of railway points the UAS was being recovered for landing when it struck railway overhead powerlines and fell approximately 30 ft onto the track. The remote pilot reported that a lesson he learned was “to fly either side of pylon cables…instead of trying to fly over/under them.”
28 Feb 2024	UAS DJI Mavic Mini Pro 4	Streatham, London	During a hand launch, a propeller clipped the launcher’s finger and the UA fell to the ground.
4 Mar 2024	UAS DJI M30 T	East Garston, Berkshire	The remote pilot was bringing the UA back to the intended landing site. It went into a low battery level mode and did not respond to controller input. The UA clipped a hedge near the intended landing site.
4 Mar 2024	UAS DJI Phantom 4 RTK	Southport, Merseyside	The UA was being used for surveying. The remote operator received a battery error message, and the UA did not respond to the return to home request. It flew away in the direction of the wind and was later recovered.
19 Mar 2024	UAS DJI M30T	North Gosforth, Northumberland	The UA began to automatically return to home due to insufficient battery level. The Remote Pilot had overridden the return to home mode and during the landing the UA struck a tree.
21 Mar 2024	UAS PW One	Rugby, Warwickshire	After takeoff from a field, the UA pitched up, stalled, and struck the ground nose first.
26 Mar 2024	UAS DJI M30T	Near Oxted, Surrey	The UAS was being used for image recording. With the remote pilot behind the UA, it was initially flown in Normal mode and then in Fine mode as the recording started. Once recording was complete the pilot rotated the UA to fly home. The pilot intended to select Normal mode, but Sport mode was engaged. The UA reacted quicker than expected to the pilot inputs and flew into a bush.