An investigation by the NTSB has found Facebook’s internet delivering Aquila drone crashed due to high winds. The crash occurred in June 2016 following an otherwise successful test. Aquila’s autopilot system malfunctioned in the face of fairly significant wind.
The drone’s “autoland” system couldn’t adequately pay attention to both the airspeed and the glidepath. It ended up focusing on the latter and surpassed 18 knots, much above the intended 7 knots.
Facebook plans to address the problem with minor hardware and software alterations. It’ll begin prioritizing airspeed tracking and it’ll add a physical drag device to help slow down the drone during the landing phase.
Real-world trials of Aquila may begin in 2018.
