In an event that was bound to happen, a UAV has collided with an agricultural aircraft. The event occurred in Israel on Aug. 14. At 11 a.m. local time, a Robinson R44 was conducting an agricultural operation in an orange field near the city of Petah Tiqwa when a Phantom 4 drone collided with it.

According to the State of Israel Ministry of Transport and Road Safety Aviation Accidents and Incidents Investigation report, the R44 began flight operations at 7:05 a.m. local time and had already conducted two cycles of refueling and reloading chemicals. The pilot took off for his third and final mission of the day and had been spraying for 20 minutes before the collision occurred.

Simultaneously, a licensed UAV pilot started his flight operations, mapping an area under construction for a local building company. The construction site was adjacent to the orange field where the R44 was spraying. As the UAV approached one of the corners of the site it was operating in, the UAV operator noticed the R44 maneuvering low and close to the ground at a distance of about 30 meters away. The UAV pilot immediately switched to manual control mode and lowered the UAV rapidly toward the ground.

At this same time, the R44 pilot noticed “a white body at approximately 10 meters on his left side.”  The R44 pilot then felt a “bang” feeling, which he heard from the lower left side of the R44. The R44 pilot did not feel a degradation in the way the helicopter was flying, so he located a nearby landing area and landed the R44 normally and safely.

The UAV operator lost communications with the Phantom 4 drone and thought it was because it had crashed, either due to the slipstream from the R44 or because of a heavy landing after he initiated the rapid decent. After landing the R44, the pilot found the UAV jammed in the lattice of the spray system. The R44 and the spray system were inspected and found to be airworthy, so the helicopter resumed its work and then returned to its base of operations where it landed safely.

The report concludes by noting that the “drone era for the past few years” has challenged aviation safety professionals with safely integrating UAV operations with “conventional” aviation activities. The report further noted that both pilots were working in accordance with aviation laws and published regulations, were properly licensed, and adhered to approved and authorized working altitudes.