Definition
An occurrence associated with the operation of an unmanned aircraft (a drone or other aircraft flown without a pilot on board) in which any person suffers death or serious injury, or in which the aircraft holds an airworthiness certificate and sustains substantial damage.
Plain English
When a drone or other pilotless aircraft is involved in an event that seriously hurts or kills someone, or that causes major damage to a certified aircraft, that event is officially classed as an accident.
Context Anchor
Seen in accident reporting, unmanned aircraft operations, and rules about when an event must be reported to safety authorities.
Derivation
“Unmanned” means no person is on board the aircraft. “Accident” comes from a word meaning something that happens or occurs, but in aviation it has a specific legal meaning, not just the everyday meaning of something going wrong.
Why Pilots Care
Correct recognition triggers mandatory notification timelines and helps prevent recurrence through formal investigation.
Intuition Check
Do not assume “accident” means any crash or broken unmanned aircraft here. In this context, it means an event that meets specific injury or damage thresholds.
Example Sentence 1
After the delivery drone struck a bystander and caused a serious injury, the operator was required to report the unmanned aircraft accident to the NTSB.
Example Sentence 2
Preflight planning and airspace awareness reduce the chance of an unmanned aircraft accident during commercial operations.