Page 4 - Aerotech News and Review 8-21-15
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Report: $14 million drone crashed overseas
A drone worth more than $14 million that was being re-
motely piloted from Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., was
intentionally crashed last year somewhere over the Middle
East following a mechanical failure, according to a report
from the U.S. Air Force.
The report from the Aircraft Accident Investigation Board
was released July 30. It says the MQ-9A Reaper drone made
by General Atomics experienced a starter-generator failure
GXULQJÀLJKWWKHRapid City Journal reported.
The failure led to further problems that ultimately caused
the drone to be ditched in mountainous terrain in December.
The wreckage wasn’t recovered.
Though the mechanical failure was determined to be the
cause of the crash, actions by a pilot and commander on the
ground at Ellsworth, which is near Rapid City, are listed in
the report as “substantially contributing factors.”
An Ellsworth mission crew commander “overlooked” a
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gram software version, which turned out to be different from
the version used by an overseas crew that took control of the
drone and attempted to land it, the report found.
An Ellsworth pilot also did not lower the drone’s landing
gear while the electrically powered aircraft’s voltage was suf-
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crew.
“Breaking either of these links in the chain of events may
have prevented” the drone’s “unrecoverable condition,” the
report says.
The report characterizes the actions at Ellsworth as missed
opportunities rather than failures. The Ellsworth pilot “did
not fail to abide by technical order directives,” the report
says, and the Ellsworth mission crew commander was not
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Benjamin Newell, a spokesman with the Air Force’s Air
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said further information, such as the purpose of the mission,
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ties of the crew members, is being kept secret. AP
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4 Aerotech News and Review August 21, 2015
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