Every once in a while we run across something in the summaries that is just plain interesting and worth more than a passing mention. One such was the April 2006 crash of a MQ-9 Predator B unmanned aerial drone near Nogales, Ariz.
Pilot Tricks by Remote Control
Every once in a while we run across something in the summaries that is just plain interesting and worth more than a passing mention. One such was the April 2006 crash of a MQ-9 Predator B unmanned aerial drone near Nogales, Ariz.
Key Takeaways:
- The April 2006 crash of an MQ-9 Predator B drone was caused by an inadvertent swap in control lever functions between its pilot and camera operator stations.
- A pre-mission processor card exchange resulted in the pilot's control lever, normally managing fuel flow, instead commanding "idle cut-off" when he switched stations during a perceived communication issue.
- Despite being operated by an experienced, instrument-rated pilot, the critical control misconfiguration led to the accidental engine shutdown and subsequent crash.
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