Date:	Tuesday 14 December 2021
Time:	day
Type:	DJI Mavic Mini 2
Owner/operator:	Private
Registration:	Unregistered
MSN:	N/K
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 0
Other fatalities:	0
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	River Thames at Tagg's Island, Hampton, near East Molesey, Middlesex -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Initial climb
Nature:	Survey
Departure airport:	Tagg's Island, Hampton, near East Molesey, Middlesex
Destination airport:	Tagg's Island, Hampton, near East Molesey, Middlesex
Investigating agency:	AAIB
Confidence Rating:	Information verified through data from accident investigation authorities

Narrative:
14 December 2021: DJI Mavic Mini 2 UAS destroyed/written off (damaged beyond economic repair) when collided with a tree and fell into the River Thames at Tagg's Island, Hampton, near East Molesey, Middlesex TW12 2HA. 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:

"While flying over a lake, the UAS clipped a branch on a tree and fell into the water. The UAS was not recovered".

Damage Sustained to UAS
Per the AAIB Report "the UAS clipped a branch on a tree and fell into the water". The "water" - stated in the AAIB report to be a lake - was presumably the River Thames. As the UAS was not recovered, it was not possible to assess the UAS for damage sustained, but it is presumed that UAS was destroyed.

Tagg's Island is an ait (island) on the River Thames on the reach above Molesey Lock and just above Ash Island, located in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames and part of Hampton. The island is roughly 400 metres long by 90 metres wide at its widest point, covering 6 acres (including its central lagoon). Although close to the Surrey bank near East Molesey, the island is connected to the further Middlesex bank by a single-track road bridge, being the only island on the non-tidal Thames accessible by car.

In 1980 houseboat owners Gerry and Gillian Braban bought the island, rebuilding a road bridge to the north bank in 1982, and excavating a lagoon in the centre of the island (increasing the number of houseboats by 20) in 1983. The centre of the island has a lagoon with river access and private moorings surrounded by trees and crossed by a small footbridge

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://store.dji.com/uk/product/mini-2?vid=99411
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tagg%27s_Island

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
9 September 2021	Unregistered	Private	0	English Channel		w/o
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
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

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
05-Jan-2025 07:43	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Registration, Cn, Operator, Location, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Damage, Narrative, Category, ]