Thousands of Aussies without power thanks to drone

Thousands of Australians have been left without power at their homes as a result of a drone crash.

Thousands of Australians have been left without power at their homes as a result of a food delivery drone powerline landing.

On Thursday, residents living in Browns Plains, Queensland and those in South Brisbane surrounding suburbs, lost all electricity supply after a food delivery drone collided with the power network at around 2pm.

The incident was described as a “first” of it’s nature by Queensland energy company responsible for the network, Energex.

The electricity giant was able to restore power for 2000 of the effected customers within around 45 minutes of the initial contact however there was an additional 300 remaining customers, who were closest to the drone, left powerless for around three hours.

A spokesperson for the food delivery organisation, Wing, said the drone crash was a “precautionary controlled landing,” where the drone “came to rest on an overhead powerline.”

A Wings food delivery drone has landed on powerlines in South Brisbane. Picture: Energex

The landing was reported instantly to Energex as it happened and Wing issued an apology to residents who were affected.

“We’re sorry for any inconvenience caused. We’re currently conducting a review of yesterday’s event,” the food service said.

Energex spokesperson Danny Donald was able to find humour in the situation.

“The meal was still hot inside the drone’s delivery box when the crew got there,” Mr Donald said on ABC Radio.

“We’ve never seen these delivery drones hit the network. It’s rare.”

Mr Donald confirmed there was no long-term damage to the lines but if any damage was to occur to the network, there could be a hefty fine.

The Energex spokesman also highlighted the importance of flying drones with care and paying particularly close attention when near powerlines.

“It could bring down live powerlines. The last thing we want is people in danger,” he said.

“Fifteen years ago, we asked people to be careful if they were giving their children kites for Christmas and where they were flying them. Now we’re asking parents to be very careful with where their kids fly their drones.

“It’s common sense really, and we’re asking for that common sense to prevail.”

Originally published as Thousands of Aussies without power thanks to drone