Drone Crash Database

Note: This database cover UAV crashes since 01 Jan 2007. It has been compiled from USAF Accident Investigation Board (AIB) Reports, the Wikileaks War Logs and reports from the general and military press. It does not include crashes by mini-UAV’s like Raven and Scan Eagle as they crash so often it would swamp the database (see this report for the number of mini-UAV crashes mentioned in the Wikileaks War Logs). This list is almost certainly not complete. If you know of any other large drone crashes not mentioned in the database please let me know.

Last updated:  12 Oct 2013

Date		Drone Type		Cause/ Details	Where		Reference
08 Oct 2013		Israeli Hermes 450			Israel		Press report
23 Sept 2013		Unknown ISAF			Paktia, Afghanistan		Press report
25 July 2013		USAF MQ-9 Reaper			New Mexico, USA		Press Report
14 July 2013		Israeli Hermes 450			Israel/Egypt border		Press Report
18 June 2013		Unknown NATO			Afghanistan		Press Report
5 June 2013		USAF K-Max			Afghanistan		Press Report
27 May 2013		US S-100 Camcopter			Somalia		Press Report
11 May 2013		IDF Heron			Israel		Press Report
2 May 2013		IDF Sky Model			“near Gaza”		Press Report
22 Apr 2013		Unknown Russian			Kazakhstan		Press Report
? April 2013		USAF  MQ – 9 Reaper		Mechanical failure	Mali		Press Report
2 March  2013		USAF MQ-1B Predator		electronics failure	Afghanistan		USAF Accident Report (pdf)
2012
21 Dec 2012		Unknown			South Waziristan		Press Report
5 Dec 2012		Unknown			Omdurman, Sudan		Press Report
5 Dec 2012		USAF MQ-9 Reaper			Nevada, US		Press Report
26 Oct 2012		USAF MQ-1Predator			Afghanistan		USAF Press Release
22 Oct 2012		Unknown Israeli			Israel		Press Report
27 Sept 2012		Turkish ANKA			Turkey		Press Report
18 Sept 2012		USAF MQ-1Predator		Lost link	Not reported		USAF Press Release
22 Aug 2012		USAF MQ-1Predator		Electrical fault	Afghanistan		USAF Press Release
25 July 2012		US MQ1 Predator & MQ1 C Gray Eagle			El Mirage, Arizona		Press Report
14 July 2012		Unknown Hezbollah			Lebanon		Press Report
19 June 2012		Unknown ISAF			Kunar, Afghanistan		Press Report
11 June 2012		US Navy BAMS			Maryland, USA		US Navy Press release
19 May 2012		Unknown Pakistan army			Mianwali District, Pakistan		Press Report
10 May 2012		Schiebel S-100		Loss of GPS	South Korea		Press Report
29 April 2012		Unknown ISAF			Ghazni Province, Afghanistan		Press Report
14 April 2012		USAF MQ1-B Predator			Afghanistan		Press Report
25 Feb 2012		Unknown			Miranshah, Pakistan		Press Report
21 Feb 2012		USAF MQ-1B Predator		Mechanical failure	Djibouti		USAF Accident Report (PDF)
16 Feb 2012		Searcher II			India		Press Report/
14 Feb 2012		USAF MQ1-B Predator		Mechanical failure	Afghanistan		USAF Accident Report (PDF)
03 Feb 2012		Unknown			Somalia		Press Report
30 Jan 2012		USAF MQ-1B Predator		Mechanical failure	Kandahar, Afghanistan		USAF Accident Report (PDF)
29 Jan 2012		Heron TP			Israel		Press Report
28 Jan 2012		Unknown			Afghanistan		Press Report
2011
27 Dec 2011		Unknown			Afghanistan		Press Report
13 Dec 2011		US Predator MQ-9			Seychelles		Press Report
4 Dec 2011		US Sentinel MQ-170			Iran		Press Report
11 Nov 2011		Israeli Heron			Turkey		Press Report
7 Oct 2011		USAF Reaper MQ-9			New Mexico		Press Report
24 Aug 2011		Chinese Pterodactyl			Hebei province, China		Press Report
24 Aug 2011		USAF Reaper MQ-9			Texas		Press Report
20 Aug 2011		USAF Global Hawk RQ-4			Jalalabad, Afghanistan		Press reports USAF Accident Report
15 Aug 2011		Shadow		Collides with Cargo plane	Afghanistan		Press reports
11 Aug 2011		DARPA HTV-2		Wear to outer skin	Pacific Ocean		Press Report
19 Jul 2011		Unknown Pakistani Navy			Karachi		Press report
10 July 2011		USAF Predator MQ-1B			Afghanistan		USAF Accident Report
28 Jun 2011		USAF Predator MQ-1B			Afghanistan		ISAF report
5 June 2011		USAF Predator MQ-1B			Afghanistan		USAF Accident Report
17 May 2011		USAF Predator MQ-1B			Djibouti		USAF Accident Report
7 May 2011		USAF Predator MQ-1B			Djibouti		USAF Accident Report
5 May 2011		USAF Predator MQ-1			Khandhar, Afghanistan		USAF Accident Report
1 May 2011		USAF Predator MQ-1			Afghanistan		UAF Accident Report
1 Apr 2011		Global Observer			California		Press reports
1 Apr 2011		USAF MQ-9 Reaper			New Mexico		Press reports
15 Mar 2011		USAF Predator MQ-1B			Djibouti		Press Report
4 Mar 2011		Turkish Heron			Mardin, Turkey		Press Report
8 Feb 2011-		USAF Predator			Loder, Yemen		Press Report
14 Jan 2011		USAF Predator MQ-1B			Djibouti		USAF Accident report
3 Jan 2011		USAF Predator MQ-1B			Kandahar		USAF Accident report
2010
14 Dec 2010		Mexican Orbiter UAV			El Paso, Texas		Press Report
9 Dec 2010		USAF Predator MQ-1B		Pilot error	Kandahar		USAF Accident report
28 Oct 2010		USAF MQ-9 Reaper			Holloman AFB, New Mexico		Press Report
22 Oct 2010		USAF MQ-1 Predator			Holloman AFB, New Mexico		US Military Press Release
21 Oct 2010		IDF Skylark			Gaza Strip		Press Report
07 Oct 2010		Unknown			East Afghanistan		Press Report
19 Sep 2010		USAF Predator MQ-1B		Mechanical failure	Kabul		USAF Accident report
31 Aug 2010		USAF MQ-9 Reaper			US California		Press Report
16 Aug 2010		USAF Predator MQ-1B		Pilot error	Balad Airbase, Iraq		USAF Accident report
29 Jul 2010		Boeing A160T unmanned helicopter			Boeing test facility, California		Press Report
28 Jul 2010		USAF Predator MQ-1B			New Mexico		USAF Accident report
16 Jul 2010		Heron UAV			Canada		Press Report
4 June 2010		Australian Heron			Kandhar		Press Report
20 Apr 2010		USAF MQ-1B Predator		Pilot error	US, California		USAF Accident Investigation
Mar 14 2010		USAF MQ-1B Predator			South Afghanistan		Press Report
Feb 09 2010		USAF MQ-1B Predator			Eastern Afghanistan		Press Report
Jan 24 2010		US Predator ?			Pakistan		Press Report
Jan 14 2010		USAF MQ-1B Predator			Southern Afghanistan		USAF Accident Investigation
Jan 13 2010		Italian Predator MQ-1B			Italy		Press Report
2009
Dec 13 2009		USAF Hunter UAV			Afghanistan		Wikileaks War Logs Report
Nov 22 2009		USAF MQ-1B Predator			Afghanistan		USAF Accident Investigation
Nov 14 2009		Armed uav – type unknown			Afghanistan		Wikileaks War Logs Report
Oct 3 2009		USAF MQ-1B Predator			Afghanistan		USAF Accident Investigation
Sep 24 2009		German LUNA			Afghanistan		Wikileaks War Logs Report
Sep 23 2009		Unknown (Falco?)			Parc Aberporth, Wales		Press Report
Sep 14 2009		USAF MQ-1B Predator crash		Mechanical failure	Iraq		USAF Accident InvestigationWikileaks War Log Report
Sep 13 2009		Armed MQ-9 Reaper		Rogue drone shot down	Afghanistan	Press Report
Sep 112009		MQ-1 Predator			Holloman AFB, New Mexico	Press Report
Sep 042009		USAF MQ-1B Predator crash		Mechanical failure	Afghanistan	USAF Accident InvestigationWikileaks War Logs Report
Aug 13 2009		USAF MQ-1B Predator crash		Mechanical failure	Iraq	USAF Accident Investigation
Aug 12 2009		GNAT			Mosul, Iraq	Wikileaks War Log Report
July 04 2009		USAF MQ-9 Reaper			Kandahar, Afghanistan	Wikileaks War Logs Report
Jun 02 2009		Hermes UAV		Engine Failure	Afghanistan	Wikileaks War Logs Report
May 13 2009		USAF MQ-1B Predator crash		Unknown – no wreckage found	Afghanistan	USAF Accident Investigation
May 08 2009		USAF MQ-1B Predator crash		Weather and Mechanical failure	Ghazani, Afghanistan	USAF Accident Investigation
Apr 28 2009		USAF MQ-1B Predator crash		Mechanical failure	Creech AFB, Nevada	USAF Accident Investigtion
Apr 20 2009		USAF MQ-1B Predator crash		Electrical failure	Afghanistan	USAF Accident Investigation
Mar 14 2009		Canadian SPERWER			Afghanistan	Wikileaks War Logs Report
Mar 20 2009		USAF MQ-9 Reaper crash		Mechanical failure	Fort Irwin, California	USAF Accident Investigation
Feb 22 2009		USAF MQ-1B Predator		Electrical failure	Iraq	USAF Accident InvestigationWikileaks War Logs Report
2008
Dec 04 2008	USAF MQ-1B Predator				Balad, Iraq	Wikileaks War Logs Report
Nov 20 2008	USAF MQ-1B Predator crash				Afghanistan	Wikileaks War Logs Report
Nov 02 2008	USAF MQ-1B Predator crash		Pilot error		Kanhahar, Afghanistan	USAF Accident Investigation
Oct 25 2008	SPERWER UAV				Afghanistan	WikileaksWar Logs Report
Oct 21 2008	Canadian SPERWER UAV				Afghanistan	Wikileaks War Logs Report
Aug 19 2008	USAF MQ-1B Predator crash		Mechanical failure		Iraq	USAF Accident Investigation
Aug 012008	USAF MQ-1B Predator crash		Electrical failure		Balad, Iraq	USAF Accident InvestigationWikileaks War Logs Report
Jul 212008	USAF MQ-1B Predator crash		Hazardous weather		Iraq	USAF Accident Investigation
Jun 02 2008	USAF MQ-1B Predator crash		Electrical failure		Balad, Iraq	USAF Accident InvestigationWikileaks War Logs Report
May 022008	USAF MQ-1B Predator crash		Engine failure		Iraq	USAF Accident InvestigationWikileaks War Logs Report
Apr 09 2008	USAF MQ-1B Predator crash		Mechanical failure		Iraq	USAF Accident Investigation
Apr 09 2008	RAF MQ-9 Reaper		Mechanical failure		Afghanistan	Press Reporte
Jan 13 2008	Unknown		Crashed into Airport terminal		Iraq	Wikileaks War Logs Report
2007
Dec 11 2007	Boeing A160T unmanned helicopter				California	Press Report
Dec 17 2007	USAF MQ-1B Predator		Power system failure		Iraq	USAF Accident InvestigationWikileaks War Logs report
Nov 29 2007	USAF MQ-1L Predator		Communication failure		Iraq	USAF Accident Investigation
Aug 20 2007	USAF MQ-1BPredator					USAF Accident Investigation
Jul 31 2007	USAF MQ-1L Preator		Engine failure		Iraq	USAF Accident Investigation
Jul 30 2007	USAF MQ-1BPredator		Engine failure		Iraq	USAF Accident Investigation
Mar 26 2007	USAF MQ-1B Predator		Pilot error		Afghanistan	USAF Accident Investigation
Jan 17 2007	USAF MQ-1B Predator		Engine failure		Iraq	USAF Investigation

UPDATES:

Drone crashes into Navy ship injuring 2 in California

Nov 12, 2013 – There was a $4 million Reaper drone that malfunctioned and crashed into a guided missile cruiser off the coast of Southern California earlier this month and the unarmed Air National Guard drone that crashed into Lake Ontario during a training exercise in the same week. They may have been “unarmed” but who’s to say they won’t be in the future?
There are four Reapers drones used “on a regular basis” out of Fort Drum.
One of the notorious things about drones and Reapers is their high accident rate. I believe that’s reason enough to be concerned.

June 26th : ISAF Unidentified UAV
Crashed in Kaspisa Province, North eastern Afghanistan No insurgent activity was reported in the area at the time
June 27th: ISAF . Unidentified UAV
Crashed in Heret Province Western Afghanistan, But ISAF said landing site made secure and UAV recovered. No insurgent activity was reported in the area at the time
Jun 28th ISAF . Unidentified UAV
Crashed in Kunar province ,eastern Afghanistan at 1400hrs , ISAF officials stated that the crash site was made secure and the UAV recovered with intial reports indicating that there was no insurgent activity in the area at the time.

Jul 19th Pakistani Navy , UAV was a UQAB-II UAV

For a dissection of a drone crash, check this one out

SI report into the accident involving Unmanned Air System (UAS) Hermes 450, ZK515.

 

Trackbacks

1. Drone Crash Database « Drone Wars UK
2. Pause stopped! « Drone Wars UK
3. Now We Are One: A Few Stats « Drone Wars UK
4. Crash!!! Its raining drones « Drone Wars UK
5. 13 Large UAS Crashes So Far in 2011 | UAS VISION
6. Drones for Peace? « Drone Wars UK
7. Iran, Djibouti, Afghanistan, China: Drones Simply Keep Crashing « Drone Wars UK
8. Irán, Džibouti, Afghanistán, Čína: Drony prostě pořád padají « Wertyz Report
9. Iran’s “News Releases”: A Little Truthful, Bold Lies or BS? « To Inform is to Influence
10. Drones Are Unreliable « Wanderingraven’s Blog
11. Watchkeeper drone still on list of overdue defence projects « Wanderingraven’s Blog
12. More on the Watchkeeper drone « Wanderingraven’s Blog
13. 4. Keeping Track of the Drones | Battleland | TIME.com
14. Drone crashes continue into 2012 « Drone Wars UK
15. Need for a Canadian campaign network to resist drones | No Drones Canada Network
16. Protesters at Watchkeeper drone plant « Wanderingraven’s Blog
17. Beat Obama Committee Welcomes Krauthammer to the Tea Party « Beat Obama
18. Heron TP crash ramifications continue « Wanderingraven’s Blog
19. A History of Military Delusion Part 4: Corrosion and Rust | In The Corner, Mumbling and Drooling
20. FALLING FOR IT | Gin and Tacos
21. Canadian government favouring Global Hawk drone? | Wanderingraven’s Blog
22. Does size matter? | All Party Parliamentary Group on Drones
23. Florida drone crash ‘sheds light’ on dangerous program

 

For an analysis of drone crashes (written in Sept 2012) see ‘A Century of Drone Crashes’

SI report into the accident involving Unmanned Air System (UAS) Hermes 450, ZK515.

Documents

Part 1.1 Covering Note

PDF, 255KB

Part 1.2 Convening Order

PDF, 1.01MB

Part 1.3 Narrative of Events

PDF, 2.67MB

Part 1.4-1 Findings

PDF, 4.75MB

Part 1.4-2 Findings continued

PDF, 5.73MB

Part 1.4-3 Findings continued

PDF, 6.25MB

Part 1.4-4 Findings continued

PDF, 4.88MB

Part 1.4-5 Findings continued

PDF, 3.71MB

Part 1.5 Recommendations

PDF, 3.17MB

Part 1.6 Convening Authority Comments

PDF, 806KB

Detail

SI report into the accident involving Unmanned Air System (UAS) Hermes 450, ZK515, operated by 57 Bty, 32 Regt RA, at Bastion Airfield on 2 October 2011.

Published:

30 March 2012

Organisation:

Ministry of Defence

Collections:

Service Inquiry (SI)

 

Full video of drone crash

Raw video of the quadcopter drone flight and crash on the streets of Manhattan.

CLICK HERE to see the full video of from the drone’s camera.

 

Resources:

Drone crash « Drone Wars UK

3. Drone Crash Database « Drone Wars UK

EXCLUSIVE: Small drone crash lands in Manhattan

Drone Crashes at Event

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• The Military Lost A Drone in Lake Ontario (thenetgossip.com)