Naval drone crashes in Maryland during training

Sr. Airman Nicholas Hart helps guides an RQ-4 Global Hawk Block-20 into its hangar at Beale Air Force Base in Yuba County, Calif., June 30, 2008. / AP Photo/Appeal-Democrat

(AP) NANTICOKE, Md. - A Naval drone aircraft crashed on Maryland's Eastern Shore on Monday without injuries or property damage on the ground, officials said.

The 44-foot plane on a routine training flight crashed around noon near Bloodsworth Island, across the Chesapeake Bay from the Patuxent River Naval Air Station, according to Jaime Cosgrove, a spokeswoman for the Unmanned Aviation and Strike Weapons program.

Aerial video from WBOC-TV showed a plane-shaped indentation surrounded by burning debris at the swampy crash site.

The cause is being investigated and the U.S. Coast Guard has set up a safety zone around the crash site, officials said.

The Northrop Grumman RQ-4A BAMS-D drones with a range of 10,500 nautical miles can reach 11 miles above the ground, which is above most weather, and stay in the air for more than 30 hours with speeds up to 391 mph, according to the Navy. It is operated by a crew of four on the ground.

The aircraft is one of five acquired from the Air Force Global Hawk program that support more than half of maritime intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems. They have flown more than 5,500 hours in support of combat operations since 2008.

The maritime surveillance aircraft have been used in support of the 5th Fleet, which covers much of the Middle East, including the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf and part of the east African coast.

The southern Maryland station at the mouth of the Patuxent River, 65 miles southeast of Washington, is home to the Navy's test pilot school, drone operations and principal research center for aircraft and support systems.

[Chuck-NewYork]

Hmmmmmmm

Training they say, or could it be the drone was caught spying on American Citizens?

Should we really have drones flying over American cities? I think not, sure I can understand flying drones in countries of concern., but over the United States?

If such testing is required, it would seem the Deserts of California, Arizona or New Mexico might be more appropriate for such testing activities, but over major cities and population centers on the United States, this is unacceptable.

What's really going on?

[lesliep4819]

"The Northrop Grumman RQ-4A BAMS-D drones with a range of 10,500 nautical miles can reach 11 miles above the ground, which is above most weather, and stay in the air for more than 30 hours with speeds up to 391 mph, according to the Navy. It is operated by a crew of four on the ground."

Only when it isn't malfunctioning or being crashed, whichever occurred here. Another billion or so wasted by the military.

[welcomes68]

did the pilot call in a mayday?

[Jackie006]

Military drones range from 700K to a couple million depending on the manufacturer. In this case, it was a more than a couple million but far less than "another billion" that you're implying. Granted, either way their costly. However, the technology they have and the intel that they gather is priceless. Read other recent articles - including how they were used to capture Bin Laden - and consider all of the special ops missions you DONT read about. These UAVs are essential to the military and frankly, I would rather lose a couple million dollars than a couple hundred thousand lives.

By the way, when these things crash, the miliary has trained personnel who is able to salvage parts of the the aircraft and payload.