Quick-thinking Royal Navy pilot saves Peregrine drone helicopter from plunging into sea "significant risk"
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Lightning-fast reflexes from a Royal Navy pilot saved a sophisticated helicopter drone from crashing.
Lieutenant Commander Adrian ‘AJ’ Hill grabbed the controls and steered the Peregrine mini-helicopter to safety. It was close to plunging into the ocean and causing a “significant risk” to operations.
“Almost out of the corner of my eye – I saw it suddenly descending,” Lt Cdr Hill said. “It was only a few seconds from crashing into the sea. I had to take manual control - that’s pressing three buttons in the right order - and ‘full-up’ on the controls.
“After that I got it to a safe height, collected my thoughts, and manually put it on the deck. It was one of my best landings, as the adrenaline was pumping. It went very low. It was only about one to two feet from the sea. A quarter of a second later it would have touched – and if it’s in the sea then it’s ‘game over’.”
The 10-foot-long surveillance drone was hovering in autonomous mode at 60 feet, just off the stern of HMS Lancaster at the end of an otherwise routine two and a half hour patrol. It was scouring the Gulf of Oman for potential drug traffickers. It proceeded to suffer a computer error and began to descend towards the water. Its operators were luckily already in position to prepare to land the drone manually.
Lt Cdr Hall, flight commander with 700X Naval Air Squadron, said: “You can’t train for this type of emergency, but I knew what I needed to do. This was just reaction - and not panicking. Peregrine was still in its testing phase while we were flying it from Lancaster so the fact we had some difficulties is not unusual.”
The flight commander has become the first drone operator to receive an aircrew commendation. Lt Cdr Hall was awarded the Green Endorsements, the highest honours for safety in the Fleet Air Arm and RAF. He was presented with the endorsement by the head of the Fleet Air Arm, Rear Admiral Anthony Rimington.
The citation said Lt Cdr Hall demonstrated exceptional professional skill, with a sharp eye and quick reactions. It read: “Although this incident did not present a risk to life, it did pose a significant risk to equipment and operational capability.”