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WPR24LA031

2023-11-10 · Pendleton, Oregon, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport PDT

Current FAA registration · N692PA

Make / Model
AMAZON.COM SERVICES LLC MK30
0
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A9336A

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The operator’s use of an insufficiently charged battery that resulted in a total loss of engine power and subsequent impact with terrain.

Factual narrative

The operator of the unmanned aircraft system (UAS) reported that during a test flight, the UAS descended, delivered a package to the practice location, and began a vertical climb to return to the landing zone. During the vertical climb, the UAS registered a low voltage health alert and initiated an “urgent land maneuver.” During the maneuver, the UAS battery depleted to a point where it lost propulsive power, and impacted terrain, resulting in substantial damage to all 4 wings, and spar damage to the number 2, 3, and 4 wings. Postaccident review of the circumstances surrounding the flight by the operator revealed that an insufficiently charged battery had been installed on the UAS. The operator reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the UAS that would have precluded normal operation. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • — Personnel issues-Task performance-Inspection-Preflight inspection-Pilot
  • — Aircraft-Aircraft systems-Electrical power system-Battery/charger-Inadequate inspection

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2023_WPR24LA031.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Search this event elsewhere

External sources are reported, not agency: signal that something happened, not fact about what happened.

Related research

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (stall). All research papers