US drone crashes in Seychelles

[nrj]

A US drone aircraft crashed at Seychelles International Airport on Tuesday, the US embassy in Mauritius said.

"A US Air Force remote-piloted MQ-9 crashed at the Seychelles International Airport in Mahe. The MQ-9 was not armed and no injuries were reported," the embassy said in a statement. The Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority (SCAA) confirmed the incident and said that the plane was on a "routine patrol" and had crashed because of mechanical failure.

The US embassy did not comment on the plane's mission and said that the cause of the crash was unknown. Iran announced on December 4 it had downed a US drone in the eastern part of the country, near Afghanistan. It has since shown the plane on television and said it is close to cracking its technological secrets.

US drone aircraft crashes in Seychelles - India - DNA

 

[agentperry]

today is bad day for aviation industry.

 

[nrj]

US reaper drone used for anti-piracy operations crashes at Seychelles airport

NAIROBI, Kenya — An American military drone which had been used to monitor piracy off the East African coast has crashed at an airport on the island nation of Seychelles during a routine patrol, officials said Tuesday.

The U.S. Embassy in Mauritius said the unmanned U.S. Air Force MQ-9 Reaper was not armed and that the crash caused no injuries. The crash sparked a fire that was quickly extinguished.

Lina Laurence of Seychelles' civilian aviation authority said the drone developed engine problems minutes into its flight and needed to land as soon as possible Tuesday morning.

"But due to its accelerated landing speed, the aircraft was unable to stop before the runway's end," Laurence said.

The embassy's statement said the cause of the crash is being investigated.

"It has been confirmed that this drone was unarmed and its failure was due to mechanical reasons," Laurence said.

The affected runway was closed for about 10 minutes as a "precautionary measure," but was later reopened with no disruption to airport operations, Laurence said.

The U.S. military and the civilian aviation authority of Seychelles have coordinated to remove the debris, officials said.

The MQ-9 Reaper is a medium-to-high altitude unmanned aircraft system with sensors that can provide real-time data. The Seychelles-based MQ-9s, which are used to monitor piracy activities in and around the Indian Ocean, don't carry weapons, though they have the capability to do so.

Tuesday's crash follows last week's claim by Iran that it seized a drone identified as the RQ-170 Sentinel. Tehran said it was captured over the country's east. The nearly intact drone was displayed on state TV and flaunted as a victory for Iran in a complicated intelligence and technological battle with the U.S.

U.S. officials said the unmanned aircraft malfunctioned and was not brought down by Iran. President Barack Obama said Monday the U.S. wants the top-secret aircraft back and has delivered a formal request for the return of the surveillance drone, though it isn't hopeful that Iran will comply.

The U.S. has used drones to hunt down al-Qaida-linked militants in Somalia and Yemen, among other countries. Their humming is a constant feature in the sky in many of the major towns in southern Somalia, especially the capital city and the militant-controlled southern port of Kismayo. It was not clear if drones operated out of the Seychelles are used for that purpose.

US reaper drone used for anti-piracy operations crashes at Seychelles airport - The Washington Post

 

[nrj]

Seychelles drone crash under investigation - Associated Press - POLITICO.com

 

[IBSA]

Well, now Seychelles can copy also the American technology


Even falls the drone, or is this a sorry to justify the lost-to-Iran drone as a "commo fail" and not a shoot down?

 

[agentperry]

seychelles is making good money lenting his land for bases to usa,china

 

[asianobserve]

It seems that Seychelles is fast becoming the geopolitical crossroad of the World.

 

[Ray]

It appears that US Drones are dropping from the air with marked regularity!

 

[asianobserve]

It appears that US Drones are dropping from the air with marked regularity!

Time for the US Congress to allocate more Dollars on new UAVs and systems...

 

[nrj]

Nobody talking about industrial production quality of US ?

Nobody calling USAF shameless or anything ?

Nobody talking about their manufacturing quality control ?

This is consecutive crash of US drone.

I am sorry but I heard same when MKI crashed yesterday.

Just pointing out the difference in opinion.

Maybe these drones were of low production quality or maybe not.

 

[Yusuf]

May be they are purposely crashing it to get the money for the next gen of drones!!!

 

[Armand2REP]

Iran didn't down anything. There is Chinese malware some dumb dumb loaded by accident off a flashdrive. The servers for the drones aren't even connected to anything another country could access.

 

[W.G.Ewald]

It appears that US Drones are dropping from the air with marked regularity!

Drone crashes in Seychelles, second in four months - Yahoo! News Canada

 

[Ray]

What could be the reason?