A Manna drone on a test flight in Galway. Image: Manna
The crash is now being investigated by Manna, which runs a pilot of its drone delivery service in Balbriggan.
Manna, the Irish drone company on a mission to revolutionise deliveries, has confirmed that one of its drones crashed in Balbriggan, Co Dublin, earlier this month.
The crash took place on 14 July. It was reported that day in a Balbriggan community Facebook group.
“Manna drone just crashed feet away from myself and two neighbours. Bits flying everywhere on its way down,” read a member’s post seen by SiliconRepublic.com.
“Parachute did nothing, it deployed about 40 feet from the ground and the drone flipped, rendering it useless. It hit the ground hard and upside down,” read another comment.
Manna has blamed the drone crash on a “technical error” during a routine flight.
“Per our standard safety protocols, our aircraft enacted multiple safety procedures, including the deployment of an onboard parachute, bringing the craft to a landing in an open area,” a company spokesperson told SiliconRepublic.com.
“Parachute deployment and siren activation are a normal part of our safety mitigations in response to any form of aircraft malfunction that could result in a safety risk.”
Founded by CEO Bobby Healy, Manna has been trialling its drone delivery technology in Ireland since 2019. The company aims to make the delivery of food and other goods easier and faster by eliminating the need to use delivery drivers.
Manna raised $25m in a Series A funding round last April in preparation to move beyond its testing phase.
It has focused on food delivery in suburban areas through partnerships with Just Eat and Tesco, but it also ran tests during the pandemic delivering pharmacy prescriptions and partnered with Samsung to deliver smartphones.
Already operating controlled services in Oranmore, Co Galway, Manna expanded its pilot drone delivery to Balbriggan earlier this year to deliver coffees, groceries and more.
Delivery services in the area were unavailable this week, with an error messaging showing up in the Manna app.
Error message in the Manna app. Screenshot: SiliconRepublic.com
The incident in Balbriggan earlier this month is the first reported instance of a Manna drone crash.
According to its website, Manna drones have “multiple safety systems” in place – including the provision of a trained pilot who can take control of the drone when needed, and a parachute that will bring it “gently to the ground” in the “extremely unlikely event of a total flight failure”.
“We are investigating this incident further and have reported this to the relevant authority,” a spokesperson for Manna said.
“We are taking appropriate measures against such an occurrence again to ensure Manna’s high standards of safety are upheld.”
10 things you need to know direct to your inbox every weekday. Sign up for the Daily Brief, Silicon Republic’s digest of essential sci-tech news.
