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| Iraq |
| Predator Down; Investigation Board to Convene |
| 2007-08-01 |
| Do these investigation boards do any good? Either by identifying problems or by distracting useless people from more disruptive activities (the way Congression investigations seem to work)? AIR FORCE PREDATOR UAV CRASHES ON BASE IN IRAQ BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq – An Air Force MQ-1 Predator unmanned aerial vehicle crashed at the end of the runway while landing here at approximately 11 p.m. local time Monday. The crash site is an unpopulated area and no collateral damage or injuries occurred. The aircraft is a medium-altitude long-endurance, remotely piloted aircraft. The MQ-1’s primary mission is conducting armed reconnaissance, providing top cover for collation ground forces combating terrorism here. The crash does not appear to be from hostile activity. A board will be convened to investigate the incident. |
| Posted by:Glenmore |
| #10 Pilot error. Violated the bottle-to-throttle rule. Was seen sipping a WD-40 long-neck the night before in the FMS machine shop. |
| Posted by: Jack is Back! 2007-08-01 16:54 |
| #9 Navy accident investigation protocol requires two independent investigations: one to determine the cause, and the second to detmine culpability ( if any) the first can freely use information discovered by the second, but the second ( the JAG) needs to request info from the first and it is up to the accident investigation board to determine whether they want to give it up. this from personal experience working a JAG. it is not a waste of time, especially when people are killed. |
| Posted by: USN, Ret. 2007-08-01 14:30 |
| #8 My guess is it was a botched hand-off. Nevada controls the bird in the air, but local military personnel are responsible for takeoff and landing. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2007-08-01 14:26 |
| #7 Made on a Monday? |
| Posted by: doc 2007-08-01 13:51 |
| #6 There are findings and opinions about why such crashes occur. The purpose of the board is to examine everything, determine what happened, then forward their findings up the chain and eventually to the manufacturer, if appropriate. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2007-08-01 13:19 |
| #5 All aviation accidents are investigated. It's a routine action, and should remain so. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2007-08-01 12:19 |
| #4 Glenmore, The Predator is a combat asset - as such, any accident like this will get a full review board, that's standard USAF routine. Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2007-08-01 12:16 |
| #3 The second answer is much closer to the truth. Think more about g-hawks for the former. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2007-08-01 12:15 |
| #2 I thought the landings (and possibly takeoffs) were locally controlled. |
| Posted by: Rambler 2007-08-01 12:04 |
| #1 My guess: downdraft, and response time from Nevada wasn't up to it. |
| Posted by: mojo 2007-08-01 11:45 |