A DRONE crashed into the i360 while carrying out filming of the tourist attraction.

The DJI Inspire 2 drone suffered “extensive damage” to its propellers, camera gimble and arms during the incident in Brighton.

Nobody was injured and the tower was not damaged.

An investigation into the incident by Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) found that the operator, a 51-year-old man, failed to respond to flight commands after a technical issue.

The drone was being flown under contract to carry out aerial camera work around the 600ft tourist attraction in Brighton last year, according to the report.

The report does not state name the i360 as the tourist attraction involved, but it the only tower of that size in the area.

The British Airways i360 refused to comment.

The operator, who had 160 hours of previously flying experience, was positioned on the ground several metres away from the base of the tower and had direct line of sight of the drone.

The drone flew several times around and over the top of the tower approximately 600ft off the ground

It had completed a shot directly above the tower when contact with the controller was lost, descending and hitting the top of the tower.

Its descent appeared to be under control, but the pilot failed to respond to any flight commands, the report said.

“The flight data recorded a loss of link, but the technical cause of the loss of control of the drone could not be determined.

It landed directly on top of the tower within a platform described as a “crow’s nest” but did not descend to the ground and was recovered manually.

The report said: “There was no indication of power loss or of a propulsion system failure.

“Up until when contact with the operator was lost, the drone was responding normally, and there were no indications of any technical issues.

“The apparent controlled descent and movement of the drone, and its failure to engage its return home feature before striking the tower, could not be explained and was only recorded as a loss of link in the flight data.”

The incident happened at 8.25am on July 20 last year.