Officials release MQ-1B accident report

LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. (ACCNS) -- An MQ-1B Predator flying a mission in support of Operation Enduring Freedom lost contact with its ground control station, or GCS, and crashed in a forward operating area April 20, according to an Air Combat Command Accident Investigation Board report released Nov. 24.

The Predator was an asset of the 432d Air Expeditionary Wing, Creech Air Force Base, Nev., and was flown by the 111th Reconnaissance Squadron, Texas Air National Guard, Ellington Field, Texas. The aircraft was carrying one Hellfire missile and did not return to its forward operating base after contact was lost. The wreckage was recovered the next day, downwind of the Predator's last reported position.

The loss of aircraft and its components is valued at about $4.6 million.

According to the report, the aircraft lost its return link, a data transmission capability from the aircraft to the GCS. Attempts to re-establish the return link were unsuccessful.

The AIB president determined the cause of this mishap was a catastrophic electrical system failure most likely caused by a short circuit along the 28 volt power lines. Because of the damaged state of the wreckage, the board president was unable to identify more specifically where the failure occurred.

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