Pilot Debrief

DJI Matrice near Young Harris, GA — 2021-05-06

Final reportCEN21LA224
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Date
2021-05-06
Location
Young Harris, GA, USA
Aircraft
DJI Matrice
Registration
FA3HW43WTF
Category
Helicopter
Highest injury
Serious
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Initial climb

Probable cause

The remote pilot-in-command’s (RPIC) decision to physically hold onto the drone’s landing gear in flight, which resulted in the rotors striking his hand and causing serious injury. Contributing to the accident was the RPIC’s inadequate preflight planning and lack of airspace awareness.

NTSB narrative

The remote pilot in command (RPIC) of the small unmanned aircraft system (sUAS, commonly known as a drone), intended to complete a demonstration flight next to a prison and was unaware of the restricted zone surrounding the prison. Before takeoff, the pilot set the home point within the buffer zone, which surrounded the restricted zone. About 7 minutes after takeoff, the RPIC initiated the return-to-home (RTH) function and drone proceeded toward the set home point. Because the home point was located within the buffer zone, the drone reached the buffer zone boundary and would not proceed to the set home point. The RPIC attempted to land the drone, but there were obstacles (vehicles) that prevented it from auto-landing and the buffer zone prevented it from relocating while still in RTH mode. Since the RPIC did not exit RTH mode, the drone would not respond to any manual control inputs. During the landing attempts, the RPIC exited RTH mode four times, which would have allowed the drone to respond to manual control inputs; however, each time, the RPIC reactivated RTH mode within a few seconds, which again prohibited any manual control inputs. The RPIC grabbed onto the landing gear and attempted to physically move the drone away from the vehicles. The drone resisted the physical displacement and maintained its position over the vehicle. The RPIC requested assistance from a demonstration attendee and handed him the remote controller. The RPIC ultimately attempted to remove the drone batteries, during which a propeller blade struck his right hand several times, which resulted in serious injury. The RPIC could have manually landed the drone if he had exited RTH mode. Also, the pilot should have discovered the restricted zone during preflight planning and used a landing zone and home point farther away from the restricted zone.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Human factors
First missed decision gate
RPIC should have checked for restricted zone notifications before takeoff.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • Photos
  • 9 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents9

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