On 15 January 2021, the pilot of a DJI Inspire 2 UAV being operated on a contracted aerial work task under a conditional permit lost control of it and, after it exitied the approved operating area, the UAV collided with the window of a hotel guest room causing consequential minor injuries to the occupant. The Investigation found that the loss of control was attributable to “strong magnetic interference” almost immediately after takeoff which caused the compass to feed unreliable data to the Internal Management Unit which destabilised its accelerometer and led to the loss of directional control which resulted in the collision.
Description
On 15 January 2021, the pilot of a DJI Inspire 2 UAV being operated on an aerial work task by Sky Monkey in day VMC from a position at Darling Harbour Sydney approximately 5 nm north of Sydney Airport lost control of the UAV and subsequently lost sight of it. It was subsequently found to have struck and broken the window of a guest room in a hotel approximately 330 metres west of the takeoff point resulting in its destruction and minor injuries to the occupant of the room from flying glass.
The location of accident close to Sydney City Centre. [Reproduced from the Official Report]
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