What happened
On 5 January 2022, a Multirotor Arace Sirin drone, registered as ZT-WYX, was conducting surveillance operations for Impala Platinum mines in the North West Province. The mission was being managed remotely by a pilot stationed at a factory near Hartland Mountain Lodge, approximately 55 kilometres from the mine site. The flight was conducted during the day under visual meteorological conditions in accordance with Part 1 and Part 101 regulations.
Roughly ten minutes after departing from the launch site, the aircraft was traveling northeast toward a mountain range. At an altitude of 292ft AGL, the control signal between the pilot's unit and the ZT-WYX was severed. The drone's last recorded position was near Hartland Mountain Lodge, approximately 560 metres from the takeoff point. Following the loss of signal, a three-day search operation was conducted between 5 and 8 January 2022, but the missing/lost aircraft was never recovered.
The investigation
The investigation, based on information provided by the operator, examined the flight parameters and the pilot's credentials. The pilot held a valid Remote Pilot Licence with a multirotor rating and possessed significant flight experience, totaling over 893 hours, with 17.42 hours specifically on this aircraft type. The drone itself had accumulated 96 total flight hours.
Investigators reviewed the flight path and the surrounding geography. While the area contained mountain peaks reaching 3980ft AMSL, the investigation found no physical obstacles along the flight path that would have caused a collision during a standard return-to-home procedure. The aircraft was capable of a 5km operational range and had a battery endurance of 55 minutes.
Findings
- The primary cause of the incident was a loss of communication between the drone and the pilot's control unit.
- A critical contributing factor was that the drone failed to execute its programmed return-to-launch sequence following the signal disconnection.