A US safety agency is investigating an accident involving a massive experimental drone Facebook Inc is developing to bring the Internet to remote areas of the world.
No one was hurt in the incident, which came during the uncrewed aircraft’s first test flight on June 28. It marks the latest hiccup in Facebook’s plans to wirelessly connect the world, following an explosion earlier this year that destroyed one of its satellites and political resistance to the service in India.
The high-altitude drone — which has a wingspan wider than Boeing Co’s 737 aircraft and is powered by four electric engines — suffered a “structural failure” as it was coming in for a landing, according to a previously undisclosed investigation by the US National Transportation Safety Board.
Photo: EPA
“We were happy with the successful first test flight and were able to verify several performance models and components, including aerodynamics, batteries, control systems and crew training, with no major unexpected results,” the company said in an e-mailed statement.
While there has been no previous mention of the board’s investigation or details about the incident, the company did say the drone, called Aquila, had a structural failure in a July 21 Web post.
The accident occurred at 7:43am near Yuma, Arizona, board spokesman Peter Knudson said.
The board has classified the failure as an accident, meaning the damage was “substantial.”
There was no damage on the ground, Knudson said.
The flying wing is designed to eventually be solar powered so it can remain aloft for long stretches. The social network is seeking to boost the percentage of people around the world who connect to the Internet by leapfrogging ground-based infrastructure limitations.
Facebook chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg said he was “deeply disappointed” when a SpaceX rocket explosion on Sept. 1 destroyed a Facebook satellite that would have helped spread the Internet access across Africa.
The company has also had political hurdles. In India, Zuckerberg was surprised when people rejected the company’s offer of free Web services that had Facebook at the center.
Locals saw it as a poorly disguised land grab of the Indian Internet market, instead of a charitable project.
Zuckerberg was so excited about the drone aircraft’s first flight that he flew to the test facility in Arizona early on June 28, according to an account in The Verge.
In a Web post after the flight, he said it was so successful it was extended from 30 to 96 minutes.
The accident was the second involving an uncrewed aircraft designed to fly for long periods as a less expensive alternative to satellites.
An Alphabet Inc drone, known as the Solara 50, was destroyed on May 1, last year, at a desert landing strip in New Mexico after experiencing control problems as it flew in a thermal updraft, according to the board.
Aquila is designed to fly for months at a time, using solar energy to replenish batteries at altitudes above 60,000 feet (18,288m). It is to be equipped with a laser communications system that can deliver data 10 times faster than current technologies, Facebook said.
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