What happened
On 14 July 2019, during a music festival in Barcarès, France, a DJI Inspire 2 drone operated by Fly Art Prod experienced a loss of control during an aerial photography mission. The drone was performing a series of back-and-forth maneuvers between a takeoff site and the main stage to film the crowd. During its fourth flight of the night, the aircraft began a rapid, uncontrolled descent while returning toward the pilot.
As the drone descended, it struck a 15-meter-high vertical structure on the side of the stage. Following this collision, the drone continued to fly erratically through the crowd. The rotating propellers struck several festival-goers, resulting in 3 people on ground injured. The flight ended after a member of the audience kicked the drone to the ground.
The investigation
The BEA investigation focused on the technical cause of the descent and the regulatory compliance of the flight. Investigators reviewed onboard video footage and interviewed the pilot and cameraman. The investigation also examined the regulatory framework for the S-3 operational scenario, which requires maintaining a 30-meter exclusion zone from non-involved persons.
Investigators attempted to analyze flight logs to determine if a battery failure occurred, but the data had been lost because the pilot's tablet was formatted and the drone's internal logs had been overwritten. The BEA performed test flights with the same hardware and batteries, but they were unable to replicate the reported failure.
Findings
- The flight was conducted from an undeclared location that did not comply with the required 30-meter third-party exclusion zone; spectators were observed within 10 to 20 meters of the maneuvering area.
- The pilot attempted to stop the motors using an incorrect joystick procedure, which actually caused the motors to remain active and the drone to continue its path into the crowd.
- The pilot did not activate the independent power cut-off and parachute system, despite having the capability to do so.
- The lack of propeller guards contributed to the severity of the injuries sustained by the public.
- The loss of flight logs prevented a definitive determination of whether a specific battery malfunction triggered the initial descent.