Date:	Wednesday 17 March 2021
Time:	day
Type:	DJI Matrice 600 Pro
Owner/operator:	Transport for London (TfL)
Registration:	Unregistered
MSN:	N/K
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 0
Other fatalities:	0
Aircraft damage:	Substantial
Location:	Silvertown Tunnel, North Greenwich, London SE10 -   United Kingdom
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Survey
Departure airport:	Silvertown Tunnel, North Greenwich, London SE10
Destination airport:	Silvertown Tunnel, North Greenwich, London SE10
Investigating agency:	AAIB
Confidence Rating:	Information verified through data from accident investigation authorities

Narrative:
17 March 2021: UAS DJI Matrice 600 Pro substantially damaged when crashed due to hitting a light fitting while trying to avoid a bird strike at the Silvertown Tunnel, North Greenwich, London SE10. The incident was the subject of an AAIB Record-only Investigation, published on 1 December 2021, and the following is the summary from the AAIB Report:

"The pilot flew the UAS" [in an evasive manoeuvre] "to avoid a bird [strike]. The UA struck a light fixture which caused the UA to tip, rotate and strike the ground. It came to rest on the ground within the safety zone".

Damage Sustained to airframe
Per the AAIB report, the damage to the UAS unreported, only that that the UAS "came to rest on the ground within the safety zone". The damage is believed to have been substantial, due to the UAS hitting the ground from an altitude of at least 25 feet.

The Silvertown Tunnel is a 1.4km road tunnel, with dedicated bus lanes, was first proposed in 2012 and plans were approved by the Secretary of State for Transport in 2018. Transport for London (TfL) plans also include improvements for walking and cycling around the tunnel entrances - part of major regeneration on both sides of the river. The construction project will cost around £1bn, with a further £1.2bn to be paid over the next 25 years in annual payments, under the terms of a contract signed with a private finance initiative.

The tunnel lies within the Ulez zone, and connects the A1020 in Silvertown to the A102 on the Greenwich Peninsula. It extends from the Royal Docks, not far from City Hall, to north Greenwich, near the southbound exit for the Blackwall Tunnel.

At the time of the above incident (March 2021), the tunnel was under construction (construction began 2021), with a completion date scheduled for 2025.

1. AAIB Record-only UAS investigations reviewed: February - March 2021 (Published 1 December 2021) https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/aaib-record-only-uas-investigations-reviewed-february-march-2021/aaib-record-only-uas-investigations-reviewed-february-march-2021
2. https://www.dji.com/uk/support/product/matrice600-pro
https://tfl.gov.uk/travel-information/improvements-and-projects/silvertown-tunnel?cid=silvertown-tunnel
3. https://www.erith.com/project/silvertown-tunnel/
4. https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/silvertown-tunnel-london-thames-traffic-date-map-b2507120.html
5. https://www.dji.com/uk/support/product/matrice600-pro
6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silvertown_Tunnel

Other occurrences involving this aircraft


26 September 2019	unregistered	Private	0	Hillsborough Football Ground, Owlerton, Sheffield, South Yorkshire		mis
1 October 2019	unregistered	Private	0	Shearwater C PUQ Platform, North Sea, 200 km East of Aberdeen		mis
2 December 2019	unregistered	Private	0	Brittany Road, St. Leonards-on-Sea, Hastings, East Sussex		w/o
7 January 2020	unregistered	Private	0	Training Ground (CFA) at Manchester City, Manchester		sub
28 May 2020	Unregistered	Dŵr Cymru/Welsh Water	0	Water pumping station, Prioress Mill Lane, Rhadyr, Usk, Gwent NP15 1QE		sub
7 August 2020	Unregistered	Hess Corporation	0	South Arne Wellhead Platforms East, Danish sector, North Sea		sub
10 August 2020	Unregistered	Shell UK Ltd	0	Gannet 'A' Oil & Gas Platform, North Sea, 110 miles East of Aberdeen		sub
27 August 2020	Unregistered	Private	0	Broxbourne, Hertfordshire		sub
31 August 2020	Unregistered	Private	0	Bath, Somerset BA1		sub
11 September 2020	Unregistered	Private	0	Ipswich, Suffolk		w/o
13 September 2020	Unregistered	Arena Racing Company	0	Bath Racecourse, Lansdown Hill, Bath, Somerset BA1 9BU		sub
23 September 2020	Unregistered	Private	0	Perth, Perthshire, Tayside, Scotland		w/o
13 December 2020	Unregistered	Nottinghamshire Police	0	Mansfield, Nottinghamshire		sub
26 January 2021	Unregistered	Private	0	Carrington, Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, Greater Manchester		sub
1 April 2021	Unregistered	Private	0	West End, Surrey Heath, Surrey		sub
Bird strike
14 April 2021	Unregistered	Private	0	Guildford, Surrey		sub
2 May 2021	Unregistered	Private	0	Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk		sub
6 May 2021	Unregistered	Metropolitan Police	0	New Malden, Surrey		sub
Collision with pole or wires
10 September 2021	Unregistered	Private	0	Ilminster, Somerset		sub
16 September 2021	Unregistered	Surrey Police	0	Oxshott Railway Station, Warren Lane, Oxshott, Surrey KT22 0TA		sub
29 September 2021	Unregistered	Private	0	Hillingdon, near Uxbridge, Greater London		w/o
18 October 2021	Unregistered	Private	0	Crawley, West Sussex		sub
8 November 2021	Unregistered	Private	0	Rhes-Y-Cae, Flintshire		sub
22 November 2021	Unregistered	Private	0	Keyworth, Rushcliffe, Nottinghamshire		sub
23 October 2023	unregistered	Private	0	Colwyn Bay, Conway, Clywd, Wales		sub
17 November 2023	unregistered	Private	0	Carlisle, Cumbria		sub
27 November 2023	unregistered	Private	0	near Ripon, North Yorkshire		sub
9 August 2024	Unregistered	Wynyard Estates	0	Wynyard, near Hartlepool, County Durham		sub
4 September 2024	Unregistered	SSE PLC	0	near Rannoch Power Station, Loch Rannoch, Perth and Kinross		sub
11 October 2024	Unregistered	Private	0	Dunscroft, Hatfield, 6 miles South of Doncaster, South Yorkshire		w/o
17 October 2024	Unregistered	Private	0	River Thames, off Rotherhithe Pier, London SE16		w/o

Silvertown Tunnel under construction 26 May 2024 Map of Silvertown Tunnel

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
07-Dec-2024 17:06	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Registration, Cn, Operator, Location, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Embed code, Damage, Narrative, Category, ]