Festive disaster as drone takes off into the distance

A TRAINEE drone pilot failed his first flight test when his aircraft went AWOL and disappeared.

Andy Dunston was delighted when he opened the white Skydrone Pro on Christmas morning, not least because an indoor version he unwrapped a year ago was chewed up by the family dog.

But hopes of hours of outdoor fun crashed and burned within minutes when the camera-carrying craft flew off over trees and houses and vanished from sight.

Andy’s wife Emma appealed through Facebook for eagle-eyed neighbours to check their gardens for the downed drone and revive his flying hobby - and was overjoyed when a dog walker found it three days later.

“It’s fair to say we had a bit of a mishap with its maiden flight,” said red-faced Andy. “It took off all right but then it just flew off over Maltby somewhere.

“The controller just stopped working and it went off in the wrong direction.

“When I saw my in-laws the day after, my father-in-law asked how well it flew. I said: It flew fantastically the trouble was, it flew away.’”

Andy and daughter Chloe (10) were testing out the drone at Maltby’s Manor Fields - not far from their Devonshire Road home - when the craft went out of bounds.

“It was quite calm but I could tell later on from the bedroom window that it was quite breezy higher up so it may have got to too high an altitude and just really taken off.

“I last saw it over the Portland Place area going towards the Sheppey estate.

“Hopefully someone will find it in their garden and get in touch.

“It wouldn’t be much use to anyone without the same controller set to the same frequency.”

Andy said he had intended to use the drone - which disappeared at about 11.15am on Sunday, December 27 - for filming himself and a mate mountain biking but was grounded instantly.

But thankfully, there was a twist in the tale when Andy received a call from a dog walker saying she had found it near Stainton - almost two miles away.

“I thought it might have gone some distance but I didn’t expect it to go that far, the wind really must have caught it,” said the relieved pilot.

“I’m delighted to have it back.”

Andy’s brush with disaster wasn’t his first Christmas calamity with the hi-tech aircraft.

“I got a little one last year and was playing with it all Christmas Day but the dog got hold of it so I was after another one this year,” he said.

“I had my eyes on a really expensive one which costs £1,500 but I doubt I’d get away with that now.”