Accident DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise Advanced UAV Unregistered, Thursday 9 September 2021
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Date:Thursday 9 September 2021
Time:day
Type:DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise Advanced UAV
Owner/operator:Private
Registration: Unregistered
MSN: N/K
Fatalities:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 0
Other fatalities:0
Aircraft damage: Destroyed
Location:English Channel -   United Kingdom
Phase: En route
Nature:Aerial patrol
Departure airport:English Channel
Destination airport:English Channel
Investigating agency: AAIB
Confidence Rating: Information verified through data from accident investigation authorities
Narrative:
9 September 2021: DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise Advanced UAV written off (presumed destroyed) when landed in the waters of the English Channel, 500 metres from its takeoff point (a ship) probably due to battery exhaustion. The incident was the subject of an AAIB Record-only Investigation, published on 10 March 2022, and the following is the summary from the AAIB Report:

"The 1.1 kg UAV was launched from a ship in the English Channel to search for a small craft. The wind at takeoff was 14 knots from 090°. While the UAV was airborne, the ship had to manoeuvre to avoid other shipping traffic, and headed eastwards at 10 knots, overtaking the UAV. The pilot tried to fly it back to the ship (the launching point) but when it reached 500 metres from its takeoff point it stopped. The pilot had to repeatedly update the takeoff point to his current position to keep it moving towards the ship. After 28 minutes of flight the battery was low and the UAV initiated an auto-land into the sea."

Damage Sustained to the UAV:
Per the AAIB Report "the UAV initiated an auto-land into the sea". As the AAIB report does not state that the UAV was recovered, it is presumed (although not comnfimed) that it was destroyed when it sank into the waters of the English Channel. In addition, if the UAV was not recovered, it would not have been possible to examine the UAV for any damage sustained.

Sources:

1. AAIB Record-only UAS investigations reviewed: December 2021-January 2022 (Published 10 March 2022): https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/aaib-record-only-uas-investigations-reviewed-december-2021-january-2022/aaib-record-only-uas-investigations-reviewed-december-2021-january-2022--3
2. https://www.dji.com/uk/support/product/mavic-2-enterprise-advanced
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_Channel

History of this aircraft

Other occurrences involving this aircraft

23 December 2019 unregistered Private 0 Birmingham, West Midlands sub
8 February 2020 unregistered South Yorkshire Police 0 Barnsley FC Football Ground, Oakwell, Barnsley, South Yorkshire unk
3 July 2020 Unregistered Private 0 Halesowen, Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, West Midlands sub
21 August 2020 Unregistered Private 0 Hulme, Manchester sub
6 September 2020 Unregistered Caversham Lakes Trust Ltd 0 Caversham Lakes, Henley Road, Caversham, Reading, RG4 9RA w/o
18 September 2020 Unregistered Private 0 Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire mis
17 December 2020 Unregistered Private 0 Bath, Somerset BA1 sub
22 December 2020 Unregistered Private 0 Tursdale, County Durham sub
12 January 2021 Unregistered Private 0 Dewsbury, Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, West Yorkshire sub
Bird strike
21 January 2021 Unregistered Devon and Cornwall Police 0 Carbis Bay, 1 mile SE of St Ives, Cornwall sub
1 February 2021 Unregistered Private 0 Bridge over River Weaver, Northwich, Cheshire sub
20 March 2021 Unregistered Private 0 Stockport, Greater Manchester w/o
22 March 2021 Unregistered Private 0 Wren's Nest Disused Quarry, NW of Dudley, West Midlands sub
23 April 2021 Unregistered Private 0 King’s Lynn, Norfolk sub
27 April 2021 Unregistered Private 0 Gainsborough, West Lindsey, Lincolnshire sub
7 June 2021 Unregistered Private 0 Congleton, Cheshire sub
20 June 2021 Unregistered Private 0 West Overton, 3.5 miles West of Marlborough, Wiltshire sub
1 July 2021 Unregistered Private 0 Woolwich, Royal Borough of Greenwich, Greater London SE18 sub
15 July 2021 Unregistered Private 0 Edgbaston, Birmingham, West Midlands sub
23 July 2021 Unregistered Private 0 Thurso, Caithness, Highland, Scotland sub
26 July 2021 Unregistered Private 0 Belper, Amber Valley, Derbyshire sub
8 September 2021 Unregistered Private 0 Wandsworth, London SW18 sub
14 September 2021 Unregistered Private 0 Firth of Clyde, off West Coast of Scotland w/o
15 September 2021 Unregistered Private 0 Newport, Gwent sub
16 September 2021 Unregistered Private 0 Ealing, London W5 mis
17 September 2021 Unregistered Private 0 Kingscote, near Uley, Cotswold, Gloucestershire sub
18 September 2021 Unregistered Fremantle Thames Productions for Channel 4 TV 0 Fritton Lake, Beccles Road, Fritton, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk w/o
19 September 2021 Unregistered Private 0 Sea, off Tingon, Northmavine, North Shetland w/o
21 September 2021 Unregistered Private 0 Bridgend, Mid Glamorgan, South Wales sub
23 September 2021 Unregistered Private 0 Wimborne Minster, Dorset sub
3 October 2021 Unregistered Private 0 Weldon, 2 miles East of Corby, Northamptonshire mis
20 October 2021 Unregistered Private 0 Luton, Bedfordshire w/o
9 November 2021 Unregistered Private 0 Upper Vobster, Mells, near Frome, Somerset w/o
22 November 2021 Unregistered Private 0 Bradworthy, Torridge, Devon sub
14 December 2021 Unregistered Private 0 River Thames at Tagg's Island, Hampton, near East Molesey, Middlesex w/o
16 December 2021 Unregistered Private 0 Bradford, West Yorkshire w/o
9 January 2022 Unregistered Private 0 St John’s Wood, City of Westminster, London NW8 sub
17 January 2022 Unregistered Private 0 St Nicholas, Vale of Glamorgan, 2 miles West of Cardiff sub
10 September 2023 unregistered Private 0 near Cowes Harbour, Cowes, Isle of Wight sub
15 October 2023 unregistered Private 0 Holyhead, Isle of Anglesey, Gwynedd, Wales sub
16 June 2024 Unregistered Private 0 Newton-on-the-Moor, Northumberland w/o
15 July 2024 Unregistered Private 0 Tilbury Docks, Tilbury, Thurrock, Essex sub

Location

Revision history:

Date/timeContributorUpdates
29-Dec-2024 15:43 Dr. John Smith Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Damage, Narrative, Category, ]

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