The National Aviation Safety Board (NASB) is conducting an investigation after Facebook’s (FB) massive experimental drone Aquila crashed on a test flight near Yuma, Arizona in June.
The drone is part of a project to bring internet access to remote locales. No casualties occurred, but the accident is the latest in a series of snags to Facebook’s mission to increase worldwide connectivity.
Earlier this year, an explosion destroyed one of the social media giant’s satellites that was supposed to broaden internet access in Africa and, Bloomberg reports, the company has also faced political resistance to the idea in India.
According to Bloomberg, some weeks after the crash occurred Facebook said that a “structural failure” was to blame
Aquila, which has a larger wingspan than a Boeing (BA) 737, is made of ultra light carbon-fiber and designed to eventually be solar powered, enabling it to remain airborne for long periods of time. It is one of a number of Facebook initiatives aimed at overcoming logistical hurdles to internet access.
The Jakarta Post reported Monday that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg had offered Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla use of drone.
For more on Facebook’s internet drone, watch Coins2Day’s video:
In a Facebook post from Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Peru on Saturday, Zuckerberg wrote “If we make the right investments now, we can connect billions of people in the next decade and lead the way for our generation to do great things.”
