A drone crashed into a crane at Kemsley Paper Mill, an air accident report states.

The collision, recorded in June last year, is listed in the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) update released earlier this month.

The unmanned aircraft struck a crane during a flight to document a construction site using a mounted Go Pro Hero 4 camera.

The pilot, who had previously flown a mission at the site using a pre-programmed route, had not taken into account the addition of a new crane.

According to the AAIB report: “All waypoints were programmed to be flown at 400ft, which was above the height of the three cranes at the site.”

However, the drone took off from a car park to the north of the site off Barge Way and before it reached 400ft, it collided with the jib of a crane.

“The crane had not been at the site during the previous flight,” the report stated. “And from where the pilot was situated in the car park it was difficult for him or his observer to tell that it was about to strike the crane because of a lack of perspective.”

There was no damage to the construction site but the drone fell to the ground and had propeller and motor damage, a cracked fuselage and the gimbal, which held the camera, snapped off.

The pilot, who had logged 112 hours of flight experience including 26 of unmanned aircraft, stated the programming of the drone had not taken into account a new crane at the site.

He stated that future missions would be planned so that the drone ascended vertically to 400ft shortly after take-off before surveying the site and would avoid the working radius of any of the cranes.

The 43-year-old also decided to split the mission in two and add a new take-off point on the south side. This would avoid flying directly across the site and would afford him a better view of the cranes, the report added.