Mid-flight DJI Mavic 2 Battery Failure Triggers Police Drone Crash

In a recent operation over an abandoned building near Bangor train station in Gwynedd, United Kingdom, a Police drone plummeted nearly 130ft, according to the Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB). The incident severely damaged the DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise drone, making it unrepairable.

The drone, deployed for a police operation, took flight adjacent to the train station's parking area and crashed approximately six minutes after takeoff. The crash, thankfully, resulted in no human injuries despite the drone hitting the building's roof and crashing to the ground.

The AAIB attributes the cause of the drone's crash to an in-flight disconnection of the battery on August 7, 2022, at precisely 4:48 pm. A recently published AAIB report quotes,

“The aircraft's motors stopped, and the aircraft fell vertically with no prior warning to the remote pilot. Recorded data indicated that the battery probably disconnected in flight.”

The AAIB's analysis suggests two possible causes for the drone incident: the battery not being fully latched prior to takeoff or wear and tear from repeated use, causing the latching mechanism or battery to malfunction in-flight.

In response to this unfortunate incident, the drone operator has emphasized the importance of pre-flight checks and routine checks of the airframe and battery conditions at their base. This is an essential reminder to their Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) pilots to prevent similar accidents from occurring in the future.