50 SKY SHADES - World aviation news

Air Force drones had a record number of crashes last year

Download: Printable PDF Date: 23 Jan 2016 08:26 (UTC) category:
Publisher:
Air Force drones had a record number of crashes last year - Airlines publisher
Tatjana Obrazcova
Country: United States Aircraft: Drones
Source: Engadget

The Air Force has a huge drone problem that's costing the military division a pretty penny. A total of 20 drones were completely destroyed or sustained at least $2 million in damages when they crashed in 2015, according to The Washington Post. That's the highest number of mishaps within a year so far, over twice the number of accidents in 2014. Half of those incidents involve the military's favorite surveillance and airstrike machine, the Reaper drone, which costs the Pentagon $14 million each when fully loaded.

Investigators believe the downed Reapers crashed due to electrical problems caused by a faulty starter-generator, among other "manufacturing quality issues." They were even able to point out the three parts of the generator most prone to conking out. Problem is, they can't figure out why. It's not only the Reaper that's suddenly been falling out of the skies, though. The Predator, the Reaper's cheaper ($4 million) predecessor, has also been getting into accidents recently. Incidents involving the Predator make up the other half of the 20 incidents last year -- the photos of one particular crash in Iraq even made the rounds on social media.

Despite the increase in drone crashes, there's been no reported human casualty directly caused by these incidents. The machines have a battery that can power them for one more hour, and their pilots can use that time to steer them towards unpopulated locations. Still, this is a huge problem for the military's drone operations, especially since it also desperately needs more pilots. General Atomics (Reaper's and Predator's creator) is already done developing a more robust starter-generator, WP says. But for now, the Air Force has been fitting its existing Reapers with back-up batteries that give them 10 extra hours to make it to an airfield.





Recommended

WestJet and Lufthansa Technik sign multi-billion-dollar agreement for world-class aircraft engine maintenance services

WestJet and Lufthansa Technik have signed an exclusive agreement, in which Lufthansa Technik will provide engine maintenance services for the CFM International* LEAP-1B engines that power the airline&...

airBaltic welcomed its 50th Airbus A220-300 in Riga

airBaltic welcomed its 50th Airbus A220-300 aircraft (registration No. YL-ABX) with a special livery at RIX Riga Airport. The event was attended by approximately 200 people, i...

The role of cabin crew in mitigating pilot fatigue and enhancing flight safety

Fatigue poses an important safety risk, especially in aviation, where tasks are conducted around the clock. Psychologist PhD John A. Caldwell noted that pilots' fatigue has been a top-of-mind issu...

New partnership to improve connectivity in the South Pacific - Air Tahiti Nui & Air Rarotonga

Air Tahiti Nui and Air Rarotonga announce a new partnership that will improve connectivity for travelers between France, the United States and the Cook Islands via French Polynesia, making travel acro...

Android Apps development in Riga, Latvia