Initial Investigation Points To A Mechanical Difficulty With The Aircraft

An investigation has shown that the UAV that impacted terrain during an Alpine Ski World Cup race on Tuesday may have been intentionally flown into the ground ... or "lawn-darted" ...  by the operator.

In a news release, the company operating the aircraft, Infront Sports and Media, said that during the slalom race of the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup in Madonna di Campiglio/Italy in the evening of 22 December 2015, an unmanned drone DFC-COPTER XR1 carrying a broadcast camera crashed into the snow during the second run of Austrian ski racer Marcel Hirscher.

The drone had been used to provide aerial shots of the slalom race, and was part of the host broadcast operation of Infront Sports & Media. The drone and the drone pilot have been provided by a third party service to Infront Sports & Media.

The initial technical report indicates a malfunction of the drone. According to the drone operating company, the most likely reason is a strong and unforeseen interference on the operating frequency, leading to limited operability. Detecting this, the pilot followed the official security procedure, purposely flying the drone as close as possible to the ground before releasing it. The aim was to destroy the drone, in order to prevent it from losing control.

"We very much regret that this happened and especially that it was in close proximity to an athlete, in this case Marcel Hirscher. We are extremely relieved that no one was hurt and apologise once again to Marcel Hirscher, as well as to the FIS, the Austrian and Italian Ski Federations and the Local Organizing Committee," the company said in its release.

Infront has decided to mandate an external independent expert with a formal investigation of the matter.

For the time being, FIS and Infront have decided to refrain from using drones for broadcast purposes until a fully secured operation can be ensured.

(Source: Infront Sports and Media news release. Image from YouTube video)

FMI: http://www.infrontsports.com