Company suspended from operating drones after one crashes and burns at One-North condo near kids
What a close call.
A drone crashed and burned at One-North Residences near where children were playing on July 19 afternoon.
A Stomper shared a video of the fire.
"It missed children playing by less than 1m and burst into flames. Nobody was hurt, but it was a large fire and could have killed someone," said the Stomper, who also shared photos of the drone wreck.
"You can clearly see the kids' scooter and toys, and how close they are to where it crashed.
"Some of the kids and adults were very shocked and upset. It was a very close call."
The Stomper added that the drone belonged to a company in the area called H3 Dynamics.
In response to a Stomp query, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) said it has suspended all drone operations of H3 Dynamics after the incident.
CAAS said the company, which is a commercial drone operator, was conducting a series of drone flights on July 19 using the Hexadrone Tundra 2 drone at the One-North drone estate 1, specifically over the premises of Pixel Building at 10 Central Exchange Green for the purpose of developing a command control station for the drone.
On the eighth flight of the day, at about 6pm, the drone flew outside of its approved activity area and crash landed on the grounds of One-North Residences.
CAAS said it takes a serious view of this incident and is conducting a full investigation.
Preliminary findings revealed that there was a malfunction of the drone's positioning sensors which caused it to deviate from its planned flight.
Pending the conclusion of the investigation, CAAS has suspended the company's drone operations and the use of Hexadrone Tundra 2 in Singapore.
CAAS added that other than the one that crashed, there is currently no other Hexadrone Tundra 2 drones registered for use in Singapore.
The agency has also asked all drone operator permit holders to review their safety procedures and processes.
One-North is a designated drone estate to facilitate the trial of innovative drone technologies and commercial use-cases in a controlled urban environment.
