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Bell APT Autonomous
Cargo Drone Crashes in Texas
by Mark Huber
- March 20, 2023, 2:29 PM
A Bell Autonomous Pod
Transport (APT) cargo drone crashed in Texas on March 14. (Photo: Bell)
One of Bell’s Autonomous Pod Transport (APT)
cargo drones crashed on March 14 in a field near Mineral Wells, Texas, in
what is being categorized as a “loss of control” accident by the FAA. A
spokeswoman for Bell said that no injuries resulted from the incident and
directed questions to the National Transportation Safety Board.
The APT 70 experimental aircraft, with
registration number N314AL, first flew in 2019. It has a range of 22 miles
(35 kilometers) with a 100-pound (45 kilograms) payload and a maximum speed of
86 knots. The battery-powered aircraft is designed to fly in winds up to
30 mph (48 kph) at temperatures up to 125 degrees F (52 degrees C). Damage to
the 300-pound (136 kg) vehicle is unknown.
Bell has long-promoted its line of APT
aircraft as a practical solution for the delivery of urgent military and civil
cargo including medical supplies. The aircraft was selected by NASA’s Systems Integration
and Operations program to perform test flights to
validate uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) safety and control infrastructure. The
company aims to develop and certify a production model that can carry 100
pounds of payload at speeds up to 100 knots.
The aircraft has the ability to be
manually off-loaded and can automatically drop loads at a fixed point or fly
over and airdrop payloads. The APT has been tested in
beyond-visual-line-of-sight operations and in highly-controlled and congested
airspace, including the area around Dallas-Fort Worth International airport.
Bell is part of the Textron eAviation group,
which is also working on a four-passenger eVTOL aircraft called Nexus. The
division includes Europe-based electric aviation specialist Pipistrel, which
Textron acquired in 2022.
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