Reaper Drone art, original source unknown
Though the FAA continues to fly cover for the administration, “holding back” on approvals for expanded use of spying drones in U.S. skies, the flack from public concern for safety continues to grow. The sleepless drones have been flying our skies since 2006 despite reports of “frequent system failures, computer glitches, and human error.” David Zucchino, in his recent article in the Los Angeles Times, reports that “Air Force investigators continue to cite pilot mistakes, coordination snafus, software failures, outdated technology and inadequate flight manuals” for the increasing numbers of crashes. Accident rates are down due to the exponential increase in the use of drones both overseas and at home. The flight time of U.S. drones overseas to provide intelligence and to protect our military’s lives has grown to over 20,000 hours a month according to retired Rear Admiral Thomas J. Cassidy Jr. The Air Force expects more than 300,000 hours to be flown this year, compared to 185,000 last year.
Insitu, Inc., a small Boeing subsidiary in Bingen, WA was granted a $43.7 million dollar contract to build “the military’s next generation of remote-controlled spy craft,” according to the AP in a Seattle PI article on July 31, 2010. The drone industry worldwide has already soared beyond the multi-billion dollar mark. Drones protecting our forces and interests overseas as well as those protecting our international borders are indispensable to our national security. The sleepless drones flying our civilian skies, however, pose a serious threat to public safety. The expanded use of drones, after the FAA’s almost certain “approval,” will endanger commercial pilots, civilian pilots, their passengers, and life on the ground.
The accident reports for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are alarming. In April of 2006 a Predator B, the size of a regional jet, crashed near homes thirty miles from Nogales, Arizona. The NTSB attributed the crash to the drone’s operator who “accidentally shut down the plane’s engine while attempting to deal with a locked up computer console.” The NTSB described the crash as “a wake-up call to hopefully everyone.” In August of 2006 an unmanned QF-4E crashed on take-off from Holloman Air Force Base, N.M. The QF-4E is a modified F-4 Phantom II capable of Mach 2 speed (1600 mph) and a range of 1300 miles. It can be flown totally by computer or can be controlled manually using a mobile control station. Holloman, in 2006 was operating 30 QF-4E drones at the time. Smoke from the crash of the large drone could be seen for miles. No one was injured, thankfully. In November of 2006 a UAV crashed in Negev on the Gaza border in close proximity to the populated community of Netiv HaAsarah. A second IDF drone crashed near the town of Beit Hanoun following a technical malfunction. Several hours later a Hamas website released photos of a masked gunman with an apparent IDF drone. In May, 2009 newsherald.com reported that a 20 foot BQM-167 drone washed ashore near Okaloosa Island condominiums. It had been launched by Tyndall AFB and was shot down nearly three months prior to its discovery on the beach. The same article documented two others washed ashore the prior spring. “In February of 2004 another drone crashed onto U.S. 98 near Tyndall.” Bepj.org.uk reported in September 2009 the crash of a UAV at Parc Aberporth Airport in West Wales. The airport is increasingly being used to test civilian and military UAVs while domestic flights continue to take off and land. Military.com reported on March 15, 2010 the crash of an MQ-1 Predator while taking off in southern Afghanistan. Afghanistan.blogs.cnn.com reported on July 28, 2010 the crash of a Luna UAV into the Taliban stronghold of Kunduz province. Because the aircraft went down in an area “littered with IEDs” there were no plans to try to recover it. NATO’s International Security Assistance Force claimed the small 7 foot long craft, weighing about 80 pounds, would have “no benefit to the enemy.” The Calgary Sun, on July 16, 2010, reported the crash of a Heron UAV being used for training exercises at Canadian Forces Base Suffield. It knocked out power in the surrounding area and traffic was shut down on a section of Hwy. 884 (250km southeast of Calgary), but no injuries were reported. These reports are a sampling of the crashes that are reported. Many more have gone unreported. It is inevitable that our future will bring reports of catastrophic loss of life caused by an errant, or an accurately aimed drone.
Two disturbing thoughts confront us as we watch for the FAA’s inevitable approval to expand drone use over civilian skies. The most obvious threat is the risk of interference with normal air traffic patterns and the possibility of communication interference or, even worse, mid-air collisions. The second, and most sinister threat, is the use of drone aircraft by our enemies here at home…or from remote locations abroad. How will we distinguish the friendly drone from the enemy drone? They’ll certainly be flying below our radar.
Copyright 2010. All rights reserved to Ronald Czarnecki.
