CBP Predator B Crashes

By Michael Bruno and John M. Doyle

U.S. Customs and Border Protection's sole Predator B drone crashed early April 25 north of Nogales, Ariz., but the chief of Homeland Security Department's CBP Air and Marine division remains confident in the unmanned aircraft program, he told The DAILY and Aviation Week & Space Technology in an exclusive interview.

The General Atomics Predator crashed 20 miles north of Nogales after numerous fail-safe, redundant systems failed during an operational mission, said Maj. Gen. Michael Kostelnik (USAF Ret.), assistant commissioner, Office of CBP Air and Marine.

The drone was transitioning from control by its General Atomics pilot to an automatic flying mode, said Kostelnik, a former commander of the USAF Armament Center. The drone dropped from 10,000 feet above ground after a total system failure. An on-board fire or hostile attack are not immediately suspected.

"It's pretty much destroyed, it's not going to be reparable," Kostelnik said. CBP Air and Marine already is talking with General Atomics about a "loaner" Predator.

No one was hurt by the crash in the air or on the ground, Kostelnik said. A CBP-led team, with representatives from General Atomics, the National Transportation Safety Board and possibly including the Air Force, already is investigating the incident, but results won't be known for several weeks, he said.

"It wasn't the thing going berserk and going away. It had some sort of massive technical, mechanical failure, who knows," he said.

Redundancy
"I'm disappointed that we had all of these systems fail simultaneously," Kostelnik said. "We had multiple systems fail to function the way we expected them to function."

Just March 29, Kostelnik assured House Transportation Committee members that the Predator B that CBP operates uses a redundant setup to ensure lower accident rates. "This redundant system works on all levels, from sensors to the flight computer, and provides a triple-check system to protect the vehicle and others in the airspace," he testified.

The Predator B also is programmed with a Lost Link (flight control) function that is supposed to autonomously and automatically execute link recovery actions. This function is implemented within the triplex flight computer and "has the same integrity as the flight critical elements." In the event of protracted loss of link, the aircraft is supposed to fly autonomously via Emergency Mission waypoints to a safe loiter area while changing transponder codes, eventually landing in a predetermined area.

At the same time, the mission control officer must maintain awareness of forecasted, reported and prevailing weather along the Lost Link flight plan at prescribed altitudes by all available means, Kostelnik further said. The officer must input Lost Link plans before flight and update as necessary and must continually update minimum fuel to account for weather hazards such as cloud layers, icing and turbulence.

Confidence
Kostelnik revealed the crash during an interview on Capitol Hill. Despite the crash, he praised unmanned aircraft and the Predator B in particular and maintained confidence in the program.

"With the work that it's done to date, just since September, it's probably paid for itself," Kostelnik said. "I hope to buy another one and we will."

A General Atomics spokeswoman, Kimberly Kasitz, said CBP was due to take delivery of its second Predator in mid-August. The one that crashed was obtained Sept. 29, she said. Other than the time and location of the crash, she had no further details on the incident.

The Bush administration's fiscal 2007 request already contained $10.3 million for the CBP Predator program, and Kostelnik acknowledged that it may have to go to buying another drone. Previously, Air and Marine was looking at boosting the drone's sensor capabilities and other command and control systems.

FY '05 and '06 appropriations to the CBP and the DHS Science and Technology Directorate funded a "complete system" comprising two drones.