Serious incident between the Robinson - R44 registered F-OIAS and a DJI Matrice 300 RTK drone on 15/12/2020 at the Goro mine (New Caledonia)

Cat. 2 investigation report: simplified-format report, adapted to the circumstances of the occurrence and the investigation stakes.

The helicopter pilot, accompanied by two passengers, took off from Nouméa-Magenta airport for an aerial photography mission over the Goro mine, within the NW R4 restricted area. On its part, the Civil Defence also performed an aerial photography mission with a drone in this area. The two operators had received clearance from the manager of the restricted area to enter the area and fly over the plant’s mining area. However, the helicopter pilot was not informed of the presence of a Civil Defence drone. Likewise, the Civil Defence, which had coordinated with two other helicopter operators for its morning activities, was not informed of the presence of a Helisud helicopter in the afternoon. When the helicopter pilot flew over the Vale plant’s mining area, at a height of between 150 and 300 ft, he visually detected the presence of an object flying slightly above his path and performed an evasive manoeuvre. The Civil Defence team detected the presence of the helicopter. The remote pilot had sight of it and landed the drone vertically from where it was after the aircraft crossed paths.
In the absence of path data from the helicopter, the investigation was unable to determine the precise sequence of the near-collision or the exact minimum separation distance between the two aircraft.