Unmanned aerial vehicle inspection system

An apparatus, comprising:

• one or more non-transitory computer readable storage media;
• and
• program instructions stored on the one or more non-transitory computer readable storage media that, when executed by one or more processors of an unmanned aerial vehicle, direct the unmanned aerial vehicle to:
• navigate to a first safe location identified in a flight plan;
• navigate vertically along a first column associated with the first safe location;
• activate sensors of the unmanned aerial vehicle to obtain respective sensor information at waypoints along the first column;
• navigate to a second safe location identified in the flight plan;
• navigate vertically along a second column associated with the second safe location;
• and
• activate the sensors of the unmanned aerial vehicle to obtain respective sensor information at waypoints along the second column.

An unmanned aerial vehicle, comprising:

• a flight control engine configured to at least:
• navigate the unmanned aerial vehicle to a first safe location identified in a flight plan;
• navigate vertically along a first column associated with the first safe location;
• navigate to a second safe location identified in the flight plan;
• and
• navigate vertically along a second column associated with the second safe location;
• and
• an application engine configured to:
• activate sensors of the unmanned aerial vehicle to obtain respective sensor information at waypoints along the first column;
• and
• active the sensors of the unmanned aerial vehicle to obtain respective sensor information at waypoints along the second column.