AAIB investigation to Phoenix Wings Orca, (UAS reg n/a)
Inadvertent in-flight shutdown leading to loss of control, Coombe Country Park, Warwickshire, 25 March 2025
The aircraft struck the ground in a wooded area whilst on approach to land at a site adjacent to Coventry Hospital. The accident occurred during the sixth consecutive flight, which was in preparation for demonstrating the aircraft being operated in accordance with the operator’s Beyond Visual Line Of Sight with Visual Mitigations (BVLOS VM) authorisation.
The cause of the accident was identified as a software bug in combination with a loss of synchronisation between the Remote Pilot (RP) and the Safety Remote Pilot (SRP), whereby the SRP’s hand controller had remained set to the disarm position when the aircraft had taken off. When the aircraft came within range of the SRP’s controller, this resulted in power being removed from the aircraft’s electric propulsion motors, leading to the aircraft stalling, its emergency parachute system being disabled, and a subsequent uncontrolled descent from a height of 60 m.
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