Electrical short caused Predator crash in Iraq - Air Force News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Air Force Times

Electrical short caused Predator crash in Iraq

The loss of an MQ-1 Predator over Iraq on Aug. 1 resulted from an electrical short circuit that shut down the remote-controlled plane’s onboard electronics, an Air Force accident investigation board concluded in a report issued March 5.

The Predator, armed with a pair of Hellfire missiles, took off at 8:45 a.m. from Joint Base Balad. About 10 minutes into the flight, the aircrew at Balad lost contact with the single-engine aircraft. As several warning alarms and indicators came on, the aircrew unsuccessfully tried to regain contact with the Predator.

A Balad team found the $4 million aircraft’s wreckage about five miles from the base.