DUAS XX27 - Nottingham Carnival
Initial Report
Note: this originated from AAIB report no 30300
Type of report: Accident
Aircraft Type and Registration: DJI Ultralight Mini 2
No & Type of Engines: 4 electric motors
Year of Manufacture: Unknown (Serial no: Unknown)
Date & Time (UTC): 18 August 2024 at 1830 hrs
Location: Victoria Embankment, Nottinghamshire
Type of Flight: Private (UAS)
Persons on Board: Crew – None Passengers – None
Injuries: Crew – N/A Passengers – N/A Other – 1
Nature of Damage: Destroyed
Commander’s Licence: Unknown
Commander’s Age: Unknown years
Commander’s Flying Experience: Unknown hours (of which Unknown were on type)
Last 90 days – Unknown hours
Last 28 days – Unknown hours
Information Source: Enquiries made by the AAIB
Synopsis: The UAS was being flown near the Nottingham carnival and during the flight the UAS was commanded to land by a minor who accompanied the remote pilot. At the time the remote pilot was distracted by talking to another person and as the UAS approached the ground it struck an uninvolved minor who was sitting atop someone’s shoulders. The uninvolved minor suffered a cut to the forehead. The police attended the scene and the UAS was confiscated. The UAS did not display an Operator ID and was being flown over crowds of uninvolved people.
Despite AAIB enquiries it was not possible to understand what, if any, risk assessment had been carried out by the remote pilot, the purpose of the flight or why the UAS was being flown over crowds of uninvolved people.
CHIRP Comment
The Board had the following comments:
- Firstly, it was noted that the text of the report left as many questions as it answered. However, it has been included in Edition14, not because it has an element of non-compliant flying that is part of it, but because it shows the dangers of distraction and a couple of other Human Factor aspects of flying a Drone.
- If you are providing oversight of how a flight is undertaken, particularly if it is a minor operating the controls, beware of being distracted, a great deal can happen in a very short space of time whilst for instance talking to someone who is not involved in the flight!
- If you are providing oversight, make sure you are aware of the regulations. Providing oversight implies an element of guidance, but being ignorant of the regulations means the guidance given may not be correct. It is worth refreshing your knowledge of the Drone and Model Aircraft Code here: https://register-drones.caa.co.uk
- The Board also pointed out that when handing over control of an aircraft to a co-pilot, the normal sequence is a) there should be a briefing between pilots, b) actual handover then takes place with a verbal confirmation and c) a short period of monitoring takes place by the pilot that was flying. None of this appears to have happened.
- When flying near an assembly of people, it is imperative to choose a safe take-off and landing area away from the crowd. The fact that the minor landed the Drone in the middle of the crowd seems to indicate they had not taken off from a safe place and had not had any sort of briefing at all.
- The DJI Mini 2 controller is a mobile telephone with an App. It is possible that the individual providing the oversight did not hear any of the automated landing sounds triggered by the minor, because the volume was not turned up.