UK introduces temporary ban on flying DJI drones over people

The United Kingdom’s aviation authority has issued a temporary ban on flying DJI-branded drones with certain types of batteries over people, regardless of altitude. The measure follows reports of incidents where DJI drones fell from the sky.

These are drones with the battery models TB50 and TB55, which the manufacturer uses with the DJI Matrice 200 series and the Inspire 2. According to the UK Civil Aviation Authority, a small number of incidents have been reported where the drone lost power, despite battery status indicating that there was still sufficient power. The drones fell from the sky.

The investigation into the incidents is still ongoing, but as a precaution the authority is taking the measure that the drones in question are no longer allowed to fly over people. In addition, permission has been temporarily revoked to operate within 150 meters of busy areas and within 50 meters of a person, vehicle or building. to be allowed to fly

DJI warned customers on Wednesday to be careful when using their drones if they have the affected batteries. The manufacturer’s advice is also not to fly over people or moving vehicles. The company is working on a firmware update to address the issue.