What happened
On the night of 6 July 2023, a Mavic 2; Enterprise Advanced (registration ZT-YPM) was being utilized for a surveillance mission at the Arcelor Mittal steel plant near Vanderbijl．park, Gauteng. The operation was being conducted under beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) regulations as part of a scheduled industrial survey.
Following two successful flights, the pilot initiated a third mission. The aircraft ascended to approximately 117 metres (383 feet) above ground level to capture aerial imagery. Roughly four minutes into this flight, the connection between the remote pilot station and the aircraft was lost. Although the pilot attempted to trigger the return-to-home function, the drone failed to respond. The pilot subsequently located the aircraft at its last recorded position, where it had crashed. The impact resulted in substantial damage to the battery and one of the propellers, though no injuries were reported on the ground.
The investigation
An investigation by the SACAA AIID examined the flight data and the physical condition of the aircraft. The inquiry confirmed that the pilot held a valid Remote Pilot Certificate and that the operator possessed the necessary approvals for BVLOS operations. The aircraft's registration and maintenance records were found to be in order, with the most recent periodic inspection having been completed approximately 18 hours prior to the accident.
During the post-accident inspection, investigators analyzed the aircraft's data logs and physical components. The analysis focused on the sequence of events leading to the loss of the command and control (C2) link and the specific warnings issued by the system prior to the impact.
Findings
The investigation established that the primary cause of the loss of control was the accumulation of red dust within the battery terminals. This contamination triggered an abnormal battery warning approximately two minutes into the flight, shortly before the aircraft lost its connection to the remote pilot station and crashed.