Скачать или смотреть MQ-9 Reaper drone crashes into Lake Ontario during flight training

Originally published on November 13, 2013

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An unarmed Air National Guard drone crashed into Lake Ontario during a training exercise Tuesday (November 12), the military said. The MQ-9 Reaper took off from Wheeler Sack Army Airfield at Fort Drum, N.Y., while participating in mission training for pilots of the Air Force, Air National Guard Col. Greg Semmel said at a news conference Tuesday evening. The crash occurred about 1 p.m. local time in eastern Lake Ontario about 20 miles northeast of Oswego, N.Y., he said. No injuries were reported.

According to Semmel, the weather was "good enough to fly" but that he did not know details of the conditions when the drone crashed. Four Reapers are used "on a regular basis" for student pilot training out of Fort Drum, and a student pilot was at the controls when the aircraft was lost, he added.

The Reaper drone is has a 66-foot wingspan, is 36-feet in length and has the ability to carry a payload of electronics and weapons of 3,800 pounds. It can cruise at 230 mph with a range of about 1,150 miles and a ceiling of 50,000 feet.

The U.S. military uses Reaper drones for surveillance and remote attacks in areas such as Afghanistan and Pakistan. Semmel said the cost of a Reaper is $4 million to $5 million.

There have been several previous crashes involving Reaper drones, but they are still expected to see much wider civilian use when federal permits are issued, which is expected in 2015.