What happened
On the night of 11 January 2023, a Condor remotely piloted aircraft, registered ZT-XOM, was conducting a surveillance mission at a Transnet facility in Camperdown, KwaZulu-Natal. The flight was being operated under beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) regulations during night-time visual meteorological conditions.
Following a standard pre-flight inspection and the establishment of a waypoint, the pilot initiated a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) sequence. The aircraft reached an altitude of approximately 145 feet above ground level. However, only 23 seconds into the flight, the aircraft's motors unexpectedly disarmed. This caused the ZT-XOM to descend uncontrollably, resulting in a crash near the pilot's position. While the aircraft suffered substantial damage, there were no injuries to persons and no damage to property reported.
The investigation
SACAA AIID examined the flight logs and pilot credentials to determine the sequence of the failure. The investigation confirmed that the pilot held a valid Remote Pilot Licence with the necessary BVLOS ratings and a current medical certificate. The operator held a valid Remotely Operated Aircraft System Operating Certificate (ROC) that authorized night-time aerial patrol and survey operations.
Analysis of the manufacturer's log data revealed that the throttle was armed at 07:07:08, takeoff occurred three seconds later, and the throttle disarmed at 07:07:34. The investigation also noted that the aircraft had only 1.5 total flight hours, meaning it had not yet reached the interval required for a mandatory periodic inspection.
Findings
- The primary cause of the accident was that the throttle was inadvertently disarmed shortly after takeoff, leading to the uncontrolled descent.
- A contributing factor was the pilot's inadequate experience on this specific aircraft type, as the pilot had only previously operated the Condor for 0.25 hours in a trainee capacity.