Mechanical Failure Caused Drone Crash, Air Force Says

The Air Force determined a mechanical malfunction caused a MQ-1B Predator drone to crash back on Nov. 8, 2015, according to a Monday report.

The Air Force released a report detailing the incident, the Air Force Times reported. There “were no human factors applicable to this mishap,” according to the Air Force.

There was a failure in the aircraft’s “left tail clamp and/or tail clamp bolts” and this caused the drone to enter an “unrecoverable spin and the impact destroyed the aircraft,” according to Air Force Times.

The MQ-1B is a remotely piloted aircraft used primarily by the United States Air Force for intelligence gathering. The Air Combat Command Accident Investigation Board published the report on the incident, absolving maintenance personnel of any wrongdoing.

“All indications are that the maintenance personnel correctly complied with all maintenance actions and were not a factor to this mishap,” the report said. The cost of the drone was valued at close to $5.3 million.

The drone was taking part in combat operations and experienced a malfunction with its Outside Air Temperature sensor. The drone operator attempted to pilot the aircraft back to base, but the failure in the left tail occurred before he could make the landing.

After spinning out of control for a total of 27 seconds, the drone crashed. No one was injured and no major property damage occurred, according to the report.

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