Officials with the 49th Wing announced a remotely piloted MQ-9 Reaper performed an emergency landing on January 23rd. at approximately 9:45 p.m. just south of the base near Alamogordo.
The aircraft is assigned to the 29th Attack Squadron, which is a remotely piloted aircraft flying training unit. The accident occurred at the end of a local training mission. No one was injured and no private property was damaged.
Emergency personnel responded to the scene shortly after the landing. A board is convening to investigate the cause of the accident.
It is the sixth crash of a UAV at Holloman. The first was when an MQ-1 Predator crashed while taking off on September 11th., 2009, one day after the base declared initial operational capability of the Predator at Holloman. That accident, which was determined to be a mechanical failure, also involved no injuries and no private property damage.
The second and third crashes occurred within a week during October 2010 when an MQ-9 Reaper and an MQ-1 Predator were damaged upon returning from separate training missions. The fourth occurred on April 4th. 2011 at 9.15 a.m. and the fifth was October 7th. also at the end of a training mission.
Sources: Holloman Air Force Base, Military.com