Wed, Aug 13, 2008
Wanted To See If UAV Would Correct Problem Autonomously
The decision to allow a unmanned aerial vehicle to correct its
final approach course without human intervention appears to have
led to the July 28 loss of an experimental Raytheon Cobra UAV,
which was under evaluation by crews at the US Air Force Academy in
Colorado Springs.
According to National Transportation Safety Board's preliminary
report on the accident, officials were demonstrating the plane to
academy staffers when the accident occurred. The flight started
uneventfully, with the UAV performing all its preprogrammed
maneuvers.
It was when the plane set up for its landing, though, when
things took a turn for the worse... literally. According to the
NTSB, the Cobra undershot its preprogrammed turn from
base-to-final... forcing the crew to command the plane to execute a
go-around, which it did successfully. On the second attempt,
however, the Cobra overshot the final turn waypoint.
"The Raytheon team elected not to take over manual control
because they reportedly wanted to see if the aircraft would correct
its flight path," the Board writes. "The aircraft began to correct,
but during the maneuver impacted stadium-style lights on a light
pole. The right wing separated and became stuck in the lights. The
remainder of the UAS fell to the ground."
The NTSB adds the purpose of the flight was to test the Cobra's
ability to control itself, in the event of control-link loss. Prior
to the flight, the Raytheon team surveyed the athletic fields and
programmed in the GPS waypoints into the autopilot; except for the
apparent problem with the final turn fix, the Cobra performed its
rectangular autopilot route with no problems noted.
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