The cause behind a Heron reconnaissance drone crashing into a helicopter in South Korea last month was determined to be a gust of wind, military officials announced.The South Korean Armys Central Accident Investigation Committee examined flight recordings, CCTV footage and other data and discovered that the Heron unmanned aerial lorry (UAV) experienced an unexpected updraft throughout an emergency situation automatic landing.While attempting an emergency situation landing, the airplane dramatically rose due to an initial gust, an Army authorities said.
Just before touching down, a 2nd gust and crosswinds contributed to the incident.The crash took place at roughly 1:05 p.m.
on March 17 when the drone, assigned to an Army aviation battalion in Seogu-ri, Gwangjeok-myeon, Yangju, veered right while landing and collided with a Surion utility helicopter (KUH-1) parked on the runway.
A fire broke out and ruined both aircraft.
Though extinguished within 20 minutes, the blaze was sustained by onboard aviation fuel.The Army convened a 20-member investigation committee on the day of the accident, led by the Armys deputy chief of intelligence and consisting of professionals from the Agency for Defense Development and Defense Agency for Technology and Quality.The committee discovered no evidence of human error, devices breakdown, maintenance failure or lax discipline.The findings were reported Wednesday to acting Defense Minister Kim Seon-ho.
To avoid future occurrences, the Army plans to expedite the installation of ground-level wind shear alert systems at the impacted battalion.
Authorities also mean to install safeguard to keep UAVs from entering helicopter parking areas at military airfields.The crashed drone was a Heron, an Israeli-made medium-altitude reconnaissance UAV with a wingspan of 16.6 meters (54.4 feet), a length of 8.5 meters and a leading speed of 207 kilometers per hour (128.6 miles per hour).
It can performing monitoring from an altitude of 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) and expenses around 3 billion won ($2.2 million) per system.
South Korea acquired 3 Herons and a ground control system in 2016 for around 40 billion won.Of the three Herons owned by military, one crashed near Yangju in November 2024 after thought GPS jamming by North Korea.
Another has been grounded due to a key part maintenance concern.
With the most recent event, all 3 Herons are now out of service, most likely impacting monitoring over the northwestern islands and the higher Seoul area.The ruined Surion helicopter, a locally produced utility airplane, was estimated to cost around 20 billion won.Source: Korea JoongAng Daily