Independent report

AAIB Record-only UAS investigations reviewed: April - May 2023

Published 13 July 2023

Event Date	Aircraft Type	Location Name	Record Only Occurrence Text
05 Sep 2022	DJI Inspire 2	Orkney Islands	The landing gear shifted whilst landing and struck a rotor. The UA then fell to the ground from approximately 10 m agl.
20 Feb 2023	MA Electric powered glider	Pulloxhill, Bedfordshire	Whilst on its second flight of the day the pilot lost control of the model glider, it entered a descending right turn and struck the roof of a unit in a nearby business park. There was minor damage to the building’s roof; the model glider was destroyed.
28 Feb 2023	DJI Mavic Enterprise Pro 2	Lewisham, South East London	Control of the UA was lost during landing following an otherwise successful flight. The UA struck a tree and was destroyed. A second UA was then flown using the same controller. Control was lost during landing but only minor damage was sustained to the UA. The operator suspected there may have been radio interference from an unknown source.
03 Mar 2023	DJI Mavic 3	Leeds	Shortly after being launched the UA became uncontrollable. The remote pilot was unable to regain control before it struck a building and fell to the ground. The operator concluded that, contrary to standard operating procedure, the remote pilot did not check that there was a valid GPS signal and that the UA went into attitude (ATTI) mode in which it maintained a height of 12 m above the ground and was blown by the wind.
04 Apr 2023	MA Zephyr	Near Blindley Heath, Surrey	During flight on club flying fields the signal to the model aircraft was lost and it flew out of sight.
04 Apr 2023	MA Majestic Major	Near Maidenhead, Berkshire	The signal to the model aircraft was lost during flight and it flew out of sight.
24 Apr 2023	DJI Mavic 3 Thermal	Peterborough, Cambridgeshire.	During takeoff, the pilot, while looking down at the controller’s screen, inadvertently flew the UA into an overhead telephone cable, damaging a propeller and causing it to fall to the ground. Although an assessment for a suitable launch site was conducted, the location of the overhead cable was misjudged as the situation required the UA to be deployed quickly.
12 May 2023	MA Max-Thrust Riot V2	Lee-on-the-Solent, Hampshire	Control of the model aircraft was lost while approaching to landing in a gusty crosswind. The model collided with a residential property, destroying the aircraft and causing minor damage to the property. The pilot attributed the accident to the increasingly gusty wind and his limited flying experience.
13 May 2023	MA Soar 40 sports low wing	Birmingham	Two model aircraft collided during flight. The collision disconnected the battery of one which then suffered damage to the tail surfaces when it landed. The other landed without damage.
15 May 2023	Evolve Dynamics Sky Mantis	Newcastle	The UA was approximately 20 minutes into a flight when the remote pilot noticed that one rotor was slowing down. The UA then fell onto a roof of a building and was substantially damaged.
15 May 2023	MFE Believer	MoD Aberporth, Wales	Following a practice touch-and-go, the remote pilot turned to follow the UA but he was dazzled by the low sun. He lost visual contact with the UA, which then suffered substantial damage when it struck a metal tower in the corner of the field.
19 May 2023	DJI M300 RTK	Byfleet, Surrey	On descending, the UA began to spiral and the pilot was unable to regain control. It fell onto, and damaged, a stationary emergency services vehicle. Nine minutes before the loss of control the UA battery was observed to be around 60% fully charged.
20 May 2023	DJI Avata	Keighley, West Yorkshire	The UA was flown from an indoor location to outside in order to land it. However, control was lost and the UA flew into the ground.
23 May 2023	MA Hobbyzone Carbon Cub S2	Edinburgh	During flight the model aircraft was disturbed by a wind gust and flew over trees in a built up area. The pilot was not able to recover the aircraft.