Drone-helicopter collision caused by sudden gust of wind: military
A collision between a military drone and a helicopter last month was caused by a sudden gust of wind during the drone's landing, an Army official said Wednesday.
An Army investigation committee reached the conclusion after analyzing video recordings, surveillance camera footage and flight data from the March 17 collision between a Heron reconnaissance drone and a Surion helicopter at an airfield in Yangju, just north of Seoul.
"The committee did not identify any human error, equipment flaws, or problems with maintenance systems or military discipline," the Army official said.
The investigation found that a gust of wind pushed the Heron drone upward while it was trying to land in automatic landing mode. During its next landing attempt, another gust of wind combined with a cross wind to push the drone off the runway and into the parked helicopter.
In the wake of the accident, the Army will quickly install warning systems against rapidly changing winds and nets around the helicopter parking area.
The collision left both aircraft destroyed but no one injured. (Yonhap)
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