The pilot of an RF Designs Mephisto drone had completed a post-maintenance test flight and was taxiing the drone to its hangar when the drone failed to respond to commands to reduce power.
The pilot used an automatic mode switch to regain control and turn the drone away from bystanders, instead sending it across the airfield, where it came to a stop resting against a perimeter fence at Bruhl Airfield near Tara, Queensland, according to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau’s (ATSB’s) final report on the June 19, 2020, incident.
No one was injured in the incident, which the ATSB said resulted in minor damage to the skin of the drone, which had a 2.6-m (8.5 ft) wingspan and a maximum takeoff weight of 35 g (77 lb).
The ATSB report said that the drone’s pilot had not correctly disengaged its automatic mode after the autonomous flight and that, when the throttle was increased to provide momentum for taxiing, the “abort landing” function was activated, “increasing the …
