A technical malfunction on a Skyports Drone Services craft caused an observer to abort a routine mission linking Orkney Islands destinations for the Royal Mail, the UK’s first permanent UAV postal delivery operation has been temporarily suspended.
In August, a new aerial postal service was introduced to replace the regular ferry service between the islands of Orkney. Skyports Drone Services used DLV-2 Speedbird Aero craft, which can carry up to six kilograms of payload over a maximum distance of 16 kilometers, for a three-month trial. During a mission last week, one of those UAVs ended up in the water due to a technical issue that caused a remote monitor to deploy the onboard parachute during a controlled descent.
Though neither Skyports nor Royal Mail posted website information on the incident, UK press outlets that caught wind of it said the UAV had been returning from Graemsay to its base on the nearby island of Hoy when the problem arose. Though the craft was carrying no payload when it was ordered down – and was successfully aborted according to protocols – the partners paused the service pending inquiries.
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