Draganfly sUAS Used to Document Vast Accident Scene of Air Canada Flight AC624 Crash in Halifax, NS

On April 1st, 2011, the Draganflyer X6 was the first sUAS in North America to document a manned aircraft accident in an urban environment. Now, nearly 4 years later to-the-date, the Draganflyer X4-ES operated by the RCMP in Nova Scotia was used to photograph and gather data of the widespread crash site of the wreckage of Air Canada Flight AC624 in Halifax, NS. Working with the Transportation Safety Board of Canada, there are hopes that the images will help determine what went wrong with the approach and landing that sent 23 people to hospital.

Mike Cunningham, the regional manager for air investigations with the TSB, said the aerial photography will help them see the whole picture. “In the past we’ve done that with fixed-wing aircraft, but now that we have this access to the RCMP’s drone capabilities, it’s a really great way for us to get the aerial coverage and the accident site that we need,” he said Monday. “It is a big help.”

This is the second time in the past year that the Nova Scotia RCMP have made headlines using their Draganflyer X4-ES. In September 2014, their Draganflyer X4-ES helped find missing hikers northeast of Topsail Lake, outside of Halifax.