Category Archives: Accident Reporting

Lost Satellite Link Caused Predator Loss in 2017

An MQ-1B Predator was lost while supporting a combat mission in the US Central Command area of responsibility on Sept. 4, 2017, after the satellite link connecting the mission control element to the aircraft failed and airmen were not able to re-establish contact, according to an abbreviated accident investigation board report released on Monday.  Continue reading

Taliban Claims to Have Shot Down MQ-9 Reaper

An unmanned aircraft suffered a malfunction and crashed in Afghanistan in late October, U.S. military officials say. It then wound up in Taliban propaganda photos, where militants claimed they shot down the drone. Several pictures surfaced on Taliban channels over the past week, allegedly showing the wreckage of an armed U.S. Air Force MQ-9 Reaper drone with large trucks in the background.

The serial number is legible on the aircraft wreckage, and what appears to be AGM-114 Hellfire missiles are laid out in a row beside the debris.

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