Accident not caused by drone, says aircraft association
An investigation by the Commercial Unmanned Aircraft Association of Southern Africa (CUAASA) revealed that the drone did not cause the accident on the Schoemanskloof Road earlier this week.
Following a car accident on the R539 Schoemanskloof Road in Mbombela on Wednesday, it was established that a commercial crop-spraying drone operation was taking place in an adjacent field, and that no drone collided with a vehicle, as was reported by TRAC.
The CUAASA has been in contact with the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) certified drone operator, at which point the flight logs confirmed the crop spraying drone to have operated at approximately 800 metres from the road in an automated grid pattern.
“However, the driver of the vehicle may well have had a clear view of the drone operating in the field, given the terrain in the area,” stated a press release from the aircraft association.
The CEO of the drone operation said the crew reported seeing a large cloud of dust at the road from where they were, and manually flew the drone closer to the road to inspect what had happened.
“The pilot observed – through a first-person view (FPV) camera – that someone else was already at the scene and flew back to the area of operation to continue the automated flights. It can also be confirmed that this operation was conducted within SACAA regulatory and safety protocols and that the pilot had full control of the drone before, during and after the reported time of the accident.
“At the time of this press release, a spokesperson for TRAC where the driver is employed, confirmed to CUAASA that he has serious injuries and is still in hospital. At this point, it is believed that no further investigation will take place,” concluded CUAASA.
ALSO READ: Freak accident on Schoemanskloof Road lands man in hospital
