What happened
On June 17, 2020, at approximately 10:16 AM, an AXH-E230RS unmanned helicopter, registration B-AAA01403, crashed into the waters north of the Anping Fishing Port in Tainan. The aircraft, operated by the Coast Guard Administration, had taken off from the Anping Sunset Viewing Platform.
According to flight logs, the aircraft departed at 10:12:24 AM in loiter mode, ascending to an altitude of approximately 230 feet and traveling southwest at 16 knots. At 10:15:32 AM, the aircraft began to lose attitude control. The operator attempted to intervene by switching the flight mode to stabilize mode at 10:15:59 AM, before reverting to loiter mode at 10:16:10 AM. The aircraft ultimately crashed into the sea at 10:16:20 AM in an area with a water depth of approximately 8 meters. There were no injuries reported during the incident.
The investigation
The investigation focused on the pre-flight procedures and the flight telemetry recorded by the ground control station. Prior to takeoff, the operator performed standard pre-flight checks, which indicated that all critical parameters—including satellite count, signal strength, output current, rotor speed, and battery status—were within normal operating limits. Tests of the ground control station, manual remote controller, and the aircraft itself showed no abnormalities.
Findings
- The primary cause of the crash could not be definitively determined because the aircraft was lost at sea and could not be recovered for physical inspection.
- While flight telemetry showed the aircraft's attitude became unstable shortly before the crash, the lack of wreckage prevented a detailed analysis of the mechanical or software failure.