Issues Occurred Just Before Landing During June 28 Test Flight

The NTSB has recently released documents related to the structural failure of the Aquila drone being tested by Facebook as a way to deliver Internet service to remote areas.

Bloomberg reports that the documents allude to a "structural failure" of the Aquila aircraft, which has a wingspan wider than a Boeing 737, while it was on approach to landing following the test flight June 28.

In a Facebook blog post dated July 21 detailing the flight, the company describes the flight as being nominal through most of its phases. The flight lasted three times longer than the minimum mission length, according to the post, giving engineers data on "how the structure and autopilot responded under a range of real-world conditions to help verify these predictions. We are still analyzing the results of the extended test, including a structural failure we experienced just before landing."

Bloomberg reports that the NTSB has classified the failure as an "accident", which infers that the damage to the aircraft was "substantial". There was no damage to anything on the ground, according to the report. Additional details were not disclosed.

(Image from file)

FMI: Facebook Post