In July, an accident occurred in Oita Prefecture in which a pilot who came into contact with a drone broke his right hand, and the National Transport Safety Board dispatched an air accident investigator to the site. This is the first time we have investigated a drone accident.
Since December last year, drones have been obliged to report accidents to the national government, and serious incidents have been newly added to the scope of investigation by the National Transport Safety Board.
On the 26th, an air accident investigator from the Japan Transport Safety Board was dispatched for the first time due to a drone accident to investigate the accident that occurred in Kokonoe Town, Oita Prefecture on the 14th of this month.
According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, in this accident, a drone that was flying for pesticide spraying training came into contact with a utility pole, and the operator touched the aircraft, seriously injuring himself by breaking his right hand.
Also, according to the aircraft manufacturer, the man who was flying the aircraft contacted him saying that he had reached for the propeller that was spinning upset.
Investigators who visited the site searched for debris from the aircraft that came into contact with the utility pole and flew a survey drone to photograph the area around the site from the sky to gather information.
Kosuke Kadowaki, an air accident investigator at the Japan Transport Safety Board, said, "With the spread of drones, accidents may increase in the future, so we would like to investigate the cause and prevent recurrence."