Villagers panic as UAV lands in Andhra Pradesh’s ASR district

VISAKHAPATNAM: An unmanned aerial vehicle (vertical take off and landing aircraft) of Redwing meant for emergency medical services made a 'precautionary' landing in the outskirts of Boitheli and Gamparai villages under Pedabayalu mandal of Alluri Sitharama Raju (ASR) district on Thursday evening, creating panic among residents.

The UAV landed near a tree around 4.30 pm, and the villagers panicked as it was an unusual sight. The locals were scared as it was not a regular drone, which is usually seen during aerial photography or at weddings or other events. They ran away from the locality, suspecting that it was an armed drone and had crashed.

Later, a group of people examined the UAV and found that there were no signs or traces of any dangerous materials. However, they were relieved after the Redwing team reached the location and communicated with the residents of Gamparai, explaining the reason for the emergency landing.

The operations team of Redwing said a scheduled performance evaluation flight was conducted from Paderu to Munchingiputtu community health centre on Thursday.

The UAV carried no medical payload as the primary objective was to validate aircraft performance in local atmospheric conditions. During the cruise phase at about 400 ft above ground level, the team identified a technical variance in airspeed readings.

Upon detecting the airspeed anomaly, the team followed standard operating procedures (SOPs) to prioritise safety over mission completion. The team bypassed the automated flight path to initiate a controlled precautionary landing, officials said.

A vacant, uninhabited landing area near Boitheli was identified. The drone was brought down via manual pilot intervention in an open field, ensuring the aircraft remained clear of all settlements and infrastructure.