ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 346343
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| Date: | Tuesday 6 June 2023 |
| Time: | 22:47 UTC |
| Type: | Condor VTOL |
| Owner/operator: | |
| Registration: | ZT-XGK |
| MSN: | CON0005 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Seriti Mine, Viljoensdrif -
 South Africa
|
| Phase: | Approach |
| Nature: | Aerial patrol |
| Departure airport: | Seriti Mine, Viljoensdrif |
| Seriti Mine, Viljoensdrif | |
| Investigating agency: | CAA S.A. |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The pilot reported that he successfully conducted two surveillance flights that night; and the accident flight was the third flight. The UAS was flown autonomous during the third flight and the pilot was monitoring its tracks on the laptop, and its systems on the remote pilot station. The furthest range that was covered from the home point during the third flight was approximately 7.6 kilometres (km) and the UAS had covered a flight track of approximately 150 kilometres, which lasted approximately 1 hour and 36 minutes (96min). The pilot stated that during the return-to-home flight, the left-side battery power indicated 38%. As the UAS approached the landing zone in auto mode, the pilot noticed that it transitioned from fixed wing mode to multirotor mode. The pilot further stated that the UAS was approximately 15 metres (m) away from the departure take-off position (where the pilot was situated) which was outside the 10-metre radius required for auto landing. The pilot stated that during descent, the UAS gravitated towards a tree that was on its flight path and suddenly spun out of control and changed directions without the pilot’s inputs. At this point, the pilot maintained visual of the UAS. There were no flashing lights observed on the UAS and on the remote pilot station to indicate a fault/error.
The pilot regained manual control of the UAS and brought it down from 60m (197ft) to 8m (26ft) above ground level (AGL) and away from the security guards that were on foot patrol. Again, the UAS suddenly failed to respond to the pilot’s inputs, and it impacted the ground hard. The UAS sustained substantial damage; no persons on the ground were injured.
Probable Cause(s)
During transition to land, the UAS spun out of control due to low battery voltage before it crashed.
Contributing Factor(s)
• Uncommanded transition after an RTL.
• Low-battery voltage.
• Loss of situational awareness.
• Incorrect input during the last phase of flight.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
CAASA
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 07-Oct-2023 16:52 | harro | Added |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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