20220114005939I

Incident · Substantial damage

FAA incident report · Aircraft · Unionville, VA · January 14, 2022

Date: January 14, 2022 · 09:05 local
Place: Unionville, VA
Airport: Na
Phase of flight: Cruise/Level Flight
Damage: Substantial damage
Aircraft: NONE
People aboard: 1
Fatal injuries: 0
Other injuries: 0

From the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), through its Aviation Safety Information Portal, as reported. The NTSB investigates accidents separately, and its record of an accident is the fuller one. The aircraft is matched to the registry by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

What happened

The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.

The drone pilot was conducting a survey over a solar panel field. He had approximately 16 minutes of battery life left. He would expect a warning once it reached 7 minutes. The app displayed 16 minutes and gave no warnings. There was a quick flash stating a battery problem as the drone simultaneously wobbled and crashed from its hover in flight.

As the FAA filed it

THE DRONE PILOT WAS CONDUCTING A SURVEY OVER A SOLAR PANEL FIELD. HE HAD APPROXIMATELY 16 MINUTES OF BATTERY LIFE LEFT. HE WOULD EXPECT A WARNING ONCE IT REACHED 7 MINUTES. THE APP DISPLAYED 16 MINUTES AND GAVE NO WARNINGS. THERE WAS A QUICK FLASH STATING A BATTERY PROBLEM AS THE DRONE SIMULTANEOUSLY WOBBLED AND CRASHED FROM ITS HOVER IN FLIGHT.