What happened
On 16 June 2023, an Arace Sirin unmanned aircraft system, registered as ZT-XVW, was being operated in Vryheid, KwaZulu-Natal, for a flight demonstration. The mission was intended to showcase the rapid depletion of the drone's battery, a phenomenon the pilot had observed during a previous flight. The operation was conducted under visual line of sight (VLOS) rules in accordance with Part 101 of the Civil Aviation Regulations.
After the aircraft was launched and reached a stable altitude of approximately 2 metres, the pilot began recording the remote pilot station using a mobile device. As the pilot attempted to maneuver the aircraft to a new position, the system experienced signal latency. This delay in command transmission caused the aircraft to lose controlled flight, leading it to strike a pole and crash to the ground. There were no injuries reported on the ground, and the aircraft sustained only minor damage to its propeller.
The investigation
The SACAA AIID investigation confirmed that the pilot held a valid Remote Pilot Licence (RPL) with both VLOS and BVLOS ratings, and possessed a valid Class 3 medical certificate. The operator held a valid Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems Operating Certificate (ROC), and the aircraft itself held a valid Letter of Approval (LOA).
Records indicated that the pilot had significant experience on this specific type, with over 619 total flying hours, though only 4.5 hours had been logged in the 90 days prior to the incident. The aircraft's last mandatory periodic inspection had been completed in April 2023, with only 33.82 hours flown since that inspection.