A firefighter crashed an £8,000 drone during a search for a missing person. The drone had been requested by Greater Manchester Police for the case last summer when, towards the end of the mission, it began a 'rapid descent arch' and hit the ground.
The DJI Matrice 300 RTK, sold online for around £8,000, was the property of, and was being operated by, Greater Manchester Fire Service (GMFRS) on August 3. It had been in flight for around nine minutes when, at a height of around 200ft, the pilot and an observer heard an audible 'bang or pop'. It prompted a 'three-rotor emergency landing sequence', with the drone flying in a 'rapidly descending arc' until it struck the ground.
A report by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch details how it crashed on to Seymour Grove, Old Trafford at 11.37pm, and 'the aircraft was destroyed'. The manufacturer later identified that the 'left rear frame arm folded back during the flight and struck the motor'.
