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Facebook’s Airbus Zephyr Crashes on Test Flight

An Airbus Zephyr testing out a way to deliver internet services to remote communities has reportedly crashed in the Kimberley, Western Australia.

The drone, part of an initiative dedicated to helping the social media giant become a global internet service provider, was supposed to demonstrate Facebook’s High Altitude Pseudo-Satellite communications capabilities.

It comes ahead of a meeting in Egypt later this year, where major companies are predicted to contend for control of the wireless spectrum, as 5G mobile networking rolls out.

The Airbus Zephyr drone, understood to be 25m wide, is a military-grade surveillance craft and has the capacity to fly in the stratosphere for weeks. The craft was expected to start a secretive, one-month flight mission on April 1, but reportedly crashed at take-off.

The test flight was organised to determine whether a Zephyr drone, armed with technology, could bring internet services to remote communities.

Facebook’s intention to connect the “next billion” internet users has come under recent fire, with the social media platform copping blame for the spread of hate speech and disseminating propaganda overseas.

Spokespeople for Facebook, Airbus and the Australian Transport Safety Bureau were approached for comment by The Australian, but did not respond.