A 32-year-old civilian contractor died after an aircraft propellor struck her Sept. 7, 2023, while she was looking at a handheld measurement device, the U.S. Air Force said Friday.
Stephanie R. Cosme, the contractor, suffered a fatal wound during “a ground developmental test event” for an MQ-9A Reaper drone at the Gray Butte Airfield in California, the statement noted. Authorities pronounced her dead after she was airlifted to a nearby hospital.
MQ-9A Accident Report Released – Air Force Materiel Command – https://t.co/PFy8mbVOMm https://t.co/yhgUolkSv8
— Antelope Valley Bulletin (@AV_Bulletin) April 5, 2024
“[F]irst, the test engineer was incorrectly instructed or trained on how to take telemetry readings when approaching the MQ-9A while the engine was running. Second, she lost situational awareness while walking around the mishap aircraft taking telemetry readings with a hand-held measurement device,” the Accident Investigation Board (AIB) found, according to the statement. (RELATED: REPORT: Israel Border Guards Find Six Military Drones Amid UNRWA Donations)
The AIB’s study also said that a lack of proper communication between the teams and the rushing of the previously-delayed test “substantially contributed to the mishap.” The study further noted that a post-mortem fluid analysis showed that there was no evidence that drugs played a role in the loss of Cosme’s situational awareness.
A recreation of the incident by the Air Force also found that “the spinning propeller was not visible when looking to the rear of the aircraft, from where the contract employee approached,” according to the press statement.
The MQ-9A Reaper drone, first developed in 2001, is “powered by the flight-certified and proven Honeywell TPE331-10 turboprop engine,” according to General Atomics Aeronautical. The drone could endure “over 27 hours” in the air and could “operate up to 50,000 feet.”
Cosme’s obituary described her as “a cherished daughter, sister, fiancé, mother, and friend, and her presence illuminated the lives of all who knew her.”