Yangju: A recent collision between a military drone and a helicopter has been attributed to a sudden gust of wind during the drone's landing, as reported by an Army official. The incident, which took place last month, involved a Heron reconnaissance drone and a Surion helicopter at an airfield located just north of Seoul.
According to Yonhap News Agency, an Army investigation committee reached the conclusion after a thorough analysis of video recordings, surveillance footage, and flight data from the March 17 collision. The committee's findings revealed that neither human error, equipment flaws, nor issues with maintenance systems or military discipline contributed to the accident.
The investigation determined that a gust of wind pushed the Heron drone upward as it attempted to land in automatic mode. Subsequently, during another landing attempt, a combination of another gust and a cross wind forced the drone off course, resulting in a collision with the parked helicopter.
In response to the accident, the Army plans to promptly install warning systems to alert against rapidly changing winds and to erect nets around the helicopter parking area to prevent similar incidents in the future.
Fortunately, the collision resulted in the destruction of both aircraft but did not cause any injuries.