Simulation of unmanned aerial vehicles in the determination of accident locations

As part of the aviation regulations in the Netherlands, third party risk models have been developed and are applied in the determination of risks to the people on ground (third parties) due to aircraft departures and arrivals. In the derivation of these models, accident data are required. Such risk model has yet to be developed for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). As foreseen in the future, accidents with increasing UAV use can pose a growing safety risk for the environment. So the challenge is how to safely manage future increase of UAV use. Because data about UAV accidents are scarce, this study explores the use of flight simulation as an alternative for gathering accident data for UAVs. Simulation models for unmanned aerial vehicle in both a fixed wing and a multi-rotorcraft (quadcopter) configuration are adapted. Through modelling and computer simulation of flights by these UAV configurations, insight is collected regarding ground impact locations for various UAV failure situations, including motor failure with full, partially or loss of controllable surfaces, and for various UAV flight conditions.