Date:	Thursday 19 November 2020
Time:	day
Type:	DJI Phantom 4 Pro
Owner/operator:	Essex Police
Registration:	Unregistered
MSN:	N/K
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 0
Other fatalities:	0
Aircraft damage:	Substantial
Location:	Colchester, Essex -   United Kingdom
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Survey
Departure airport:	Colchester, Essex
Destination airport:	Colchester, Essex
Investigating agency:	AAIB
Confidence Rating:	Information verified through data from accident investigation authorities

Narrative:
19 November 2020: DJI Phantom 4 Pro UAS, sustained substantial damage when dropped to the ground during an aerial photography sortie at Colchester, Essex. The incident was the subject of an AAIB Record-only Investigation, published on 11 March 2021, and the following is the summary from the AAIB Report:

"The UAS suddenly dropped to the ground during an aerial photography flight. It was substantially damaged".

Damage Sustained to UAS
Per the AAIB Report "substantially damaged". The reason for the UAS dropping to the ground without warning was never established.

Colchester is a city in north-eastern Essex, England, on the River Colne. Colchester is 50 miles (80 kilometres) northeast of London. It is connected to London by the A12 road and the Great Eastern Main Line railway. Colchester is less than 30 miles (50 km) from London Stansted Airport and 20 miles (30 km) from the port of Harwich.

1. AAIB Record-only UAS investigations reviewed: December 2020-January 2021, Published 11 March 2021: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/aaib-record-only-uas-investigations-reviewed-december-2020-january-2021/aaib-record-only-uas-investigations-reviewed-december-2020-january-2021
2. https://dronelife.com/2020/08/18/drones-in-law-enforcement-essex-police-explains-how-theyve-made-it-work-video/
3. https://www.dji.com/uk/phantom-4-pro-v2
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colchester

Other occurrences involving this aircraft


22 May 2018	Unregistered	Private	0	Railworld, near Rivergate Shopping Centre, Oundle Road, Peterborough		w/o
17 June 2018	Unregistered	Private	0	Worcester, Worcestershire		sub
18 November 2019	unregistered	Private	0	Sunderland, Tyne and Wear		sub
3 December 2019	unregistered	Private	0	Cruden Bay, Aberdeenshire		sub
4 December 2019	unregistered	Welsh Water	0	Alwen Forest, Mynydd Hiraethog/Denbigh Moors SSSI, Conwy		w/o
18 February 2020	Unregistered	Private	0	Gainsborough, Lincolnshire		sub
30 April 2020	unregistered	Private	0	Warrington Cemetery, Manchester Road, Warrington, Merseyside WA1 3BG		unk
12 July 2020	Unregistered	Private	0	Boston, Lincolnshire		w/o
28 July 2020	Unregistered	Private	0	Drakelow, 2 miles South of Burton-on-Trent, Derbyshire		sub
27 August 2020	Unregistered	Private	0	Margate, Thanet District, Kent		sub
Bird strike
31 August 2020	Unregistered	Private	0	Luskentyre Beach, Lewis and Harris, The Outer Hebrides, Scotland		sub
22 September 2020	Unregistered	Magnox Ltd	0	Bradwell Nuclear Power Station, Bradwell-on-Sea, Essex		sub
29 September 2020	Unregistered	Bristol City Docks, Harbour Masters Office	0	Bristol City Docks, Dock Gate Lane, Hotwells, Bristol BS1 6XG		sub
1 December 2020	Unregistered	Private	0	Morley, West Yorkshire		sub
2 February 2021	Unregistered	Private	0	Near Ropley, Hampshire		sub
5 March 2021	Unregistered	Private	0	Near Sizewell, Suffolk		sub
9 March 2021	Unregistered	Hanson UK Materials Aggregates	0	Whatley Quarry, 4 miles West of Frome, Somerset		sub
20 March 2021	Unregistered	Private	0	Altrincham, Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, Greater Manchester		sub
4 April 2021	Unregistered	Private	0	Holywell, Clwyd, Flintshire, North Wales CH8		sub
21 April 2021	Unregistered	Private	0	Swindon, Wiltshire		sub
19 May 2021	Unregistered	Private	0	Brent Cross, London Borough of Barnet, London NW4		sub
30 May 2021	Unregistered	Private	0	Llanhilleth, Blaenau Gwent, Wales		sub
3 June 2021	Unregistered	Private	0	Barnham, 3 miles South of Thetford, Suffolk		sub
22 June 2021	Unregistered	Private	0	Perth, Perth and Kinross, Scotland		sub
28 August 2021	Unregistered	Private	0	Stowe, 2 miles NW of Buckingham, Buckinghamshire		sub
29 September 2021	Unregistered	Private	0	Craignaw, Dungeon Hills, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland		w/o
6 October 2023	unregistered	Private	0	near Frome, Somerset		sub
5 November 2024	Unregistered	Private	0	near Lymington, Hampshire		sub

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
08-Oct-2024 07:35	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Registration, Cn, Operator, Phase, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Damage, Narrative, Category, ]