With technology such as drones and driverless cars, the way we respond to the inevitable incidents they’re involved in will shape much of how they develop.

A good start point is to understand how incidents occur, and a recent study set out to do just that with regards to drone crashes.  The researchers examined over 150 reported incidents involving drones from around the world to better understand just what caused them.

Technical problems

The analysis revealed that the majority of incidents were as a result of technical problems with the drone.  Over a ten year period up to 2016, this was the cause of 64% of incidents, with the authors suggesting that this underlines the importance of authorities doing more to prove the airworthiness of vehicles.

“Understanding what happens to drones, even those that don’t cause damage to people or property, is essential to improve safety,” they say.

Most of these technical issues were a case of disrupted communication links between the craft and the pilot, which suggests that something more akin to the regulations governing communication systems on existing commercial aircraft might be worthwhile.

“Large transport category aircraft, such as those from a Boeing or Airbus, are required to have triple redundant systems for their communications,” the authors say.

“But drones don’t and some of the improvements that have reduced the risks in those aircraft could also be used to improve the safety of drones.”

There is also a significant discrepancy between large drones that require licenses, and smaller ones that don’t.  Anything under 25kg does not currently require any proof of airworthiness, with the only regulation being of the pilot themselves.  It should hopefully go without saying that a 25kg craft is capable of significant damage, especially as they are increasingly being deployed in built up areas.

The authors hope that their analysis of the safety record of the industry will be a first step towards more informed regulation of it.  Time will tell if they’re right.