ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 344918
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| Date: | Monday 13 March 2023 |
| Time: | 06:42 UTC |
| Type: | Premier Aviation Cullinan PA400e |
| Owner/operator: | |
| Registration: | ZT-YMC |
| MSN: | PAV400-01E2022 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Grootegeluk Mine, Lephalale -
 South Africa
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Survey |
| Departure airport: | |
| Investigating agency: | CAA S.A. |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The pilot reported that he launched the UAS in vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) to a height of 50m (164 feet) before the UAS transitioned and turned towards its first waypoint which was to the south-west.
The pilot was conducting an aerial survey of the mine pit and backfill areas at Grootegeluk Mine in Lephalale. The pilot noted that the UAS was transitioning at a speed of 8 m/s instead of the planned speed of 28 m/s. This was followed by a system error “transition failed” which illuminated on the remote pilot station. The pilot switched to Fly-By-Wire-B: roll, pitch and altitude hold (FBWB) mode and pushed the full throttle to increase the speed, but to no avail. He then switched to Fly-By-Wire-A: roll and pitch hold (FBWA) mode and increased throttle again, but with no effect. The pilot switched to manual control to regain control of the UAS but it pitched down, descended and impacted the ground hard about 425 metres (m) from the take-off position. The UAS sustained substantial damage; no persons on the ground were injured.
Probable Causes
Incorrect recovery procedure by the pilot after incorrectly diagnosing the failure of the pusher motor which caused the VTOL motors to disengage and the UAS to lose control and subsequently crash.
Accident investigation:
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Sources:
SACAA
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 26-Aug-2023 09:10 | harro | Added |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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