Air Force officials release Predator accident report

  • Published
LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. (AFNS) --  Pilot error caused the crash of an MQ-1B Predator Oct. 3, 2009, at a forward operating area in Afghanistan, according to an Air Combat Command Accident Investigation Board report released March 29 here.

The AIB president determined the pilot error was the cause of this mishap due to channelized attention by the pilots of both crews that took part in the hand-off of the aircraft's controls just before the mishap occurred.

Channelized attention is described as a tight focus of attention that leads to the exclusion of comprehensive situational information.

The Predator belonged to the 432nd Air Expeditionary Wing at Creech Air Force Base, Nev., and was flown by pilots from the 163rd Reconnaissance Wing at March Air Reserve Base, Cailf.

The remotely piloted aircraft was carrying one Hellfire missile and crashed in rugged mountainous terrain in Afghanistan and was destroyed on impact. The loss of the aircraft and its components is valued at approximately $3.8 million.

The Predator was flying a mission in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.