ConocoPhillips’ use of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) for commercial purposes in remote Arctic airspace—an historic first—has not been perfect. The energy company confirmed that an Insitu ScanEagle it is using for airborne surveillance of the Chukchi Sea west of Alaska crashed on a second test flight. The aircraft’s first flight from the research vessel Westward Wind took place on September 12. It lasted 36 minutes and represented the first FAA-approved commercial UAS operation in the U.S. National Airspace System.
“As you may know, ConocoPhillips and its collaborators successfully completed the first approved commercial use of an unmanned airborne system in U.S. controlled airspace,” the company stated in an email to AIN. “However, during a second test flight, the aircraft experienced engine failure and—as it is programmed to do—aborted the flight into the water. The aircraft was recovered.”
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