The NTSB has found “pilot error” as the main causal factor behind a Predator crash back in April 2006 according to The Washington Post:
The pilot’s computer console locked up, investigators said. He started to transfer control to a backup console used by Customs agents to operate the drone’s cameras but did not follow a checklist that required him to make sure the engine controls on the second console matched the ones he had been using.
Because the second console’s controls were in the fuel shut-off position, investigators said, the Predator-B’s engine quit when control was switched.
The pilot, who did not understand why his plane kept descending, turned off ground communication with the drone to trigger its automatic emergency responses, according to investigators. Under such conditions, the plane should have climbed to 15,000 feet and circled above a designated spot until communication was reestablished. But without engine power, the plane crashed.
The pilot told investigators that he didn’t follow the checklist because he was in a hurry, said Pam Sullivan, an NTSB investigator.
Under Customs guidelines, the pilot did not have enough hours on the Predator-B to fly the plane without an instructor in the room, and the instructor was in another building, Sullivan said.
Ah, sweet solace. It does an aging aviator’s heart good to see the more things change, the more they stay the same.
– Ward
{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
However, why did the failsafe mode not include “Repower the engines if unpowered”?
So I’d say “Pilot error as the primary cause, but a secondary problem with automatic software failsafe mode”
I agree with Weaver… the fail safe automated software should re-enage the fuel line and re-start the engine if off.
Yea…. sorry sounds like lazy programmer syndrome.
Boy, I hope the pilot’s first console didn’t lock up because he spilled coffee on it, or anything. And I hope his instructor wasn’t in another building because he or she was trying to score a candy bar, or anything.
Hey — where are all the folks who advocate replacing manned platforms with UAVs?
I’m sorry — the NEXT generation of UAVs will be foolproof, honest. I mean, they’ll be built and operated by fools, but…
Wait…
But a pilot on board could have realized what was up, and not crashed. Mistakes happen, will we be willing to cause a 300 million dollar one (airplanes sure aren’t getting cheaper).
22lr: Not necessarily…
In this case, the panic reaction is “cut comm, bird should go into failsafe state”. It did not.
How is this different from “Hit the reset on the in-flight computer and the Osprey should resume normal operations” crash?
Not really, how much training does a UAV “pilot” have, Ill bet it ain’t nothing like a real pilot. I’m all for UAV and they have a vital role in recon but they will never be a replacement for a real pilot flying a real combat mission. No computer has situational awareness, and the split second decision making capabilities as the human brain. Flying UAVs from a TV is a heck of a lot different from being in the seat. Like flying flight sim, and then go flying a real airplane.
Remember the beginning to ‘War Games,’ starring Matthew Broderick? And the premise?
We can’t have human error, but we have to have humans in the loop.
And; I helped teach a summer camp course to middle schoolers about LEGO Mindstorms. By the end of the class, any one of those tykes would be able to brainstorm a nifty little bit of code like Weaver said.
Demophilus, have any manned aircraft ever crashed due to the pilot’s failure to follow proper procedures? Hmmmm, yeah, they have. Many, many of them. So it is hardly credible to say that this accident discredits the employment of UAVs. Why are UAVs required to be foolproof but manned aircraft are not?
@Lugo:
I didn’t say manned aircraft were foolproof, or that UAVs are required to be foolproof, or that this story discredits the employment of UAVs.
If you want to pick nits with something I post, I’d be much obliged if you read it, first. When you do, it would be mighty white of you not to read anything into it that isn’t there.
FTR, I’m a big believer in UAVs. Just not to the complete exclusion of manned systems.
Maybe satire’s not to your taste. If not, sorry I offended you. But, just FTR? This is America. If you can’t take a joke, you’re f*cked.
“Not really, how much training does a UAV “pilot” have, Ill bet it ain’t nothing like a real pilot. ”
to .22lr
Are you a moron? Do you KNOW anyone involved in UAV operations? Have you ever flown a plane yourself? How about you check up on stuff before you talk out your ass?
YES with very few exceptions UAV pilots are REAL PILOTS. In the USAF, they are pilots that are tracked from manned aircraft to give them operational experience with UAVs. This might change in the near future, but for now they are fully qualified and experienced flight officers. I suspect that other government agencies do the same thing.
As for errors, anyone and I mean ANYONE who has flown a single engine plane knows that you can make serious mistakes. The whole point is that you try not to make the mistake that is going to kill you, but even then it happens. It is a rare occurance indeed where two jet fighters actually trade fire in the skies. Mostly what’s required now is bombs and missles flying overhead where they are dropped on command. For that a UAV is perfect.
“the more things change, the more they stay the same.”
Except that little bit about the pilot not dying.
On the bright side of this accident, no one died. And yet it will still force the UAV’s to greatly enhance their safety.
Yo, ya ive flown, granted it was only a 172, but I fly all the time in those little birds. So you are saying a totally automated car would be safer than a real driver. Because all a car does is stop and go. No computer will ever take the place of a human brain. That statement was about the failing of the software, ya i know the cus who fly the UAVs are trained but they couldn’t go fly a F-16. To fly you have to know what is happening with your airplane, sound is the first indication that something is going wrong. If all a pilot does is sit is a seat from point A to B we would never be flying today. A pilot must constantly decide on everything he does, how much he pushes the yoke, how much throttle, how much flaps, is the gear down. Ironicly enough a single pilot can fly an F-16 into combat, while it takes 2 people to fly a computer. UAVs are all good but they will never ever replace a real pilot, in a real seat, flying a real airplane. Im just trying to figure out how a UAV is so much better than a real airplane. But maybe the TV has been saying how good they are, and we all now anything you see on TV is the gospel truth.
Biggest thing I ever flew was a 182, with glass, sweet airplane. I never said UAVs don’t have a place, but to replace a real pilot it BS.
UAVs were designed to eliminate pilot deaths, though.
So the main objective is successful!
This really isn’t so much about the pilot’s mistake, but the program’s overcoming of it.