The Philippine Air Force has announcement that his Israeli-made Hermes 900 drone crashed on Saturday morning while conducting a functional test flight in Cagayan de Oro province.
According to Philippine Air Force spokesman Col. Maynard Marianothe drone moved five nautical miles east of Lumbia airfield and climbed to 10,000 feet (3,048 meters).
After a flight check was performed and the unmanned system began to descend, it reportedly lost contact with operators and crashed in a wooded area.
The accident caused no injuries and no material damage was reported.
However, the Philippine Air Force said it would conduct a full investigation to determine the cause of the crash.
“All emergency procedures were performed and field service representatives were called for troubleshooting,” Mariano said.
Drone operations suspended
The Philippine Air Force has suspended operations of its eight remaining Hermes 900 drones until the cause of the crash can be determined.
“We reduce the cause of the loss of communication or the loss of connectivity between the aircraft which is the unmanned aerial vehicle and the ground station,” he revealed.
Mariano explained that the drone is still salvageable despite extensive damage.
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