Unarmed Surveillance Aircraft Destroyed Following Mechanical Failure

An unarmed MQ-9 Reaper Surveillance UAV has gone down on landing in the Seychelles, an archipelago in the Indian Ocean where the United States bases anti-piracy operations.

File Photo

The Air Force acknowledged the accident at the Seychelles airport. The two governments have worked closely together to establish the UAV base in the region.

The Washington Post reports that the cause of the accident is under investigation, but the Civil Aviation Authority of the Seychelles indicates that the aircraft suffered an engine failure, and then overran the end of the runway skidding into an outcropping of rocks. There was a post-crash fire, according to witnesses. Photos of the wreckage being removed from the rock outcropping show one wing and the nose separated from the aircraft.

The Reaper is believed to be one of a handful operating from the base, which was established in 2009. The official mission of the aircraft is to track pirates in the area, but they have also been used in recon overflights of Somalia.

FMI: www.af.mil