The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) says “unsuccessful visual scanning” and “operator task saturation” were factors in a collision between a York Regional Police (YRP) drone and a small aircraft at the Toronto Buttonville Municipal Airport in 2021.
On Aug. 10, 2021, a Cessna 172N aircraft was approaching the airport when it collided with a YRP DKI Matrice M210.
In a report released Thursday, the TSB said the aircraft was flown by a student pilot with a flight instructor on board. The drone was being operated by a pilot on the ground and a visual observer.
The TSB said the aircraft and drone collided.
“Following the collision, the Cessna aircraft continued the approach and made an uneventful landing,” a TSB report reads. “After parking the aircraft, damage on the front left cowl under the propeller was observed.”
According to the TSB, the YRP drone was destroyed.
No injuries were reported as a result of the incident.
The TSB said the Cessna pilots were “unaware of the presence of airborne RPA traffic in the vicinity” and “due to several factors, the active scanning that is part of the see-and-avoid principle was unsuccessful in identifying the conflict.”
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The TSB said the YRP policy “does not require that visual observes be trained crew members, and the RPA pilot did not brief the visual observer on his role and responsibilities before the operation.”
“As a result, the visual observer was not aware of the requirement to maintain visual line-of-sight with the RPA, nor was he trained in visual scanning techniques or aircraft identification,” the report said.
The TSB said the RPA pilot was operating the camera system, monitoring the status of the RPA and communicating on “multiple channels.”
“As a result, he likely became task saturated, restricting his ability to visually monitor the RPA and hear radio calls on the control zone’s mandatory frequency and the sound of incoming aircraft, both of which preceded the collision,” the report said. “As a result of these factors, the conflict went unrecognized and the two aircraft collided.”
The TSB said after the incident, the YRP “amended its directive to include the addition of a pre-flight risk assessment tool” and updated its RPA pilot checklist.
“There is also additional guidance for the role of the visual observer, including a quick reference card outlining their roles and responsibilities, as well as a requirement to have a visual observer present for all operational RPA flights,” the report said.
In an email to Global News, YRP said the report is “under review.”
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