Date:	Saturday 18 September 2021
Time:	day
Type:	DJI Mavic Pro 2 UAV
Owner/operator:	Fremantle Thames Productions for Channel 4 TV
Registration:	Unregistered
MSN:	N/K
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 0
Other fatalities:	0
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Fritton Lake, Beccles Road, Fritton, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk -   United Kingdom
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Survey
Departure airport:	Fritton Lake, Beccles Road, Fritton, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk
Destination airport:	Fritton Lake, Beccles Road, Fritton, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk
Investigating agency:	AAIB
Confidence Rating:	Information verified through data from accident investigation authorities

Narrative:
18 September 2021: DJI Mavic Pro 2 UAV was written off (destroyed/damaged beyond economic repair) when it crashed into Fritton Lake, Beccles Road, Fritton, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, NR31 9HA. The incident was the subject of an AAIB Record-only Investigation, published on 13 January 2022, and the following is the summary from the AAIB Report:

"The UAV was filming for a television programme. The UAV clipped a tree [in flight] and the UAV fell into a lake".

Damage Sustained to UAV
Per the AAIB report "the UAV fell into a lake". It is therefore presumed that this UAV sustained irreparable damage due to impact with a tree and/or immersion into the waters of Fritton Lake.

The incident was also reported in the local media, specfically the "Eastern Daily Press" of 18 January 2022:

"Drone crashed into lake in Norfolk during filming for new Keith Lemon show

A drone crashed into a lake in Norfolk during filming for a new television show starring Ashley Roberts and Keith Lemon.

The Real Dirty Dancing, which will air on E4 later this year, was shooting part of the series at Fritton Lake, near Great Yarmouth.

Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) looked into an incident on September 18, 2021, in which a DJI Mavic Pro 2 drone hit a tree and fell into the water.

It is understood that the incident happened at the end of filming a scene and the drone was not near anybody. The operator reported the incident and was cleared of wrongdoing.

The Real Dirty Dancing is a competition show in which celebrities compete to become Johnny and Baby by learning moves from the film. Stars were spotted trying to recreate the scene from the film in which the pair practice the famous lift in a lake. Celebrities involved include Lee Ryan and Saffron Barker.

Channel 4 were contacted but did not want to comment on the incident".

Fritton Lake or Fritton Decoy is a lake on the border of the English counties of Norfolk and Suffolk close to the towns of Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth. It is located within the parishes of Fritton and St Olaves and Somerleyton, Ashby and Herringfleet. A private member's club operates on the Fritton side of the lake, owned by the Somerleyton Estate.

1. AAIB Record-only UAS investigations reviewed: October - November 2021 (Published 13 January 2022): https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/aaib-record-only-uas-investigations-reviewed-october-november-2021/aaib-record-only-uas-investigations-reviewed-october-november-2021
2. Eastern Daily Press 18 January 2022: https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/20634483.drone-crashed-lake-norfolk-filming-new-keith-lemon-show/
3. Great Yarmouth Mercury 18 January 2022: https://www.facebook.com/GYMercury/posts/5298057826889512/
4. https://antidrone24.com/en/a-drone-crashed-into-a-lake/
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Real_Dirty_Dancing#British_version
6. https://www.dji.com/uk/mavic-2/info
7. https://www.frittonlake.co.uk/
8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fritton_Lake

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
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

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
07-Jan-2025 07:41	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Location, Phase, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Embed code, Damage, Narrative, Category, ]