Pender EMS And Fire Matrice 210 Ran Out Of Battery

A DJI Matrice 210 valued at $26,000 was lost in the Atlantic ocean during a training exercise last month. The aircraft, which belonged to Pender EMS and Fire, ran out of battery while fighting high winds over the ocean off Wrightsville Beach, NC.

The Port City Daily newspaper reports that the aircraft was providing aerial surveillance during an exercise for first responders, including the U.S. Coast Guard, the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office, Pender County Sheriff’s Office, Wilmington Police Department, and Wrightsville Beach Fire and Police, who were practicing rescues of stranded swimmers on February 27.  

Pender EMS and Fire Chief Woody Sullivan said that the drone has an estimated flight time of 24 minutes. However, winds in the area where the exercise was being conducted were around 15 miles per hour, and there was not enough power left in the battery to return the drone to shore. "The bird went down in 14 minutes," Sullivan said.

Sullivan said it was safer to ditch the drone in the water than to try to land it on one of the boats. He said that the company will be reviewing its protocols as part of an internal investigation. "The return home will have to be much sooner, we will have less flight time over the water," he said.

Pender EMS and Fire Deputy Chief Scott Sills said that there is an inherent risk involved when operating such expensive, high-tech equipment while learning to use them for potentially life-saving missions.

(Image from file)

FMI: Source report