Watch What Happens When A Drone Slams Into An Airplane Wing (sacbee.com)

Long-time Slashdot reader Freshly Exhumed writes: Researchers at the University of Dayton Research Institute [Impact Physics Lab] have shown in a video what can happen when a high-mass, consumer-level drone strikes the wing of an aircraft. They provide visual evidence of the damage a 2.1-pound DJI Phantom 2 videography quadcopter would have upon the wing of a Mooney M20, a small, private aircraft. It is not difficult to extrapolate the effects upon an airliner in a similar situation. "We wanted to help the aviation community and the drone industry understand the dangers that even recreational drones can pose to manned aircraft before a significant event occurs," said Kevin Poormon of UDRI.
The video -- titled "Risk in the Sky?" -- simulates a collision at 238 mph in which the drone tears open the wing's leading edge.

"While the quadcopter broke apart, its energy and mass hung together to create significant damage to the wing," said Kevin Poormon, group leader for impact physics at UDRI.

Comments

Re:Instead of a wing on a small private aircraft

[Goldenhawk]

You don't know what you are writing about. I have worked for 30 years in the aerospace field (specifically testing high performance aircraft). There is a HUGE difference between soft tissue and metal parts and highly-dense batteries. Any turbine engine would be utterly destroyed by a 1-2 lb drone.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

The drone manufacturer's response

[bluescrn]

DJI Demands Withdrawal Of Misleading Drone Collision Video: https://www.dji.com/newsroom/n...

Isn't this obvious?

[Solandri]

The Space Shuttle Columbia disaster was caused by foam hitting the wing at high velocity. Though I suppose anyone younger than about 20 can be excused for not knowing materials in high-velocity impacts don't behave the way we're used to them behaving in everyday life. (e.g. metal bullets "splash".)

Re:Instead of a wing on a small private aircraft

[NewtonsLaw]

I included commentary on this in a video I posted almost three weeks ago. The bottom line is that they chose an absolute worst-case scenario, something that has prompted DJI (the maker of the drone used) to demand that the video and findings be withdrawn (copy of the letter).

It seems that this test may have been more about promoting the university than gaining actual scientific evidence (note the prominence of the university's name on the wing under test). This is supported by a comment on the video I posted in which one viewer states: "University of dayton is seriously the lowest ranked school in the state of ohio, people from dayton...it is mostly trailer parks. All the women there know how to work on cars. Not a bad thing if you need a clutch rebuilt. Dayton isnt actually a city anymore but now a poor suburb of Cincinnati (best city in the world)"

Re:Instead of a wing on a small private aircraft

[Registered Coward v2]

Interesting video. Thanks.

It looks like the blade fragments are still retained within the cowl, is that the case in the simulation?

If that is the case, while you would loose an engine that would not be catastrophic but just another engine failure in flight.