By 2 Lt. Matthew Doyle, 132d Wing Public Affairs / Published May 21, 2021
A MQ-9 Reaper takes flight from the Gulfport CRTC at Gulfport, Miss. armed with inert GBU-12s
(U.S. Air National Guard photo by Tech. Sgt. Jon Alderman)
MQ-9 Reaper taxing on the runway as it prepares for takeoff.
(U.S. Air National Guard photo by 2nd Lt. Matthew T. Doyle)
A LNO, Pilot and Sensor Operator take part in a training flight during Exercise Southern Strike at the Gulfport Combat Readiness Training Center, Gulfport, Miss. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Chief Master Sgt. David H. Lipp) );
By CHAD GARLAND | STARS AND STRIPES Published: April 12, 2021 A Reaper drone crashed at the end of a New York runway last year because the operators mixed up the levers on the control panel, an Air Force investigation report released last week said. The unmanned MQ-9A Reaper quickly lost power and hit the ground about a minute after its takeoff from Hancock International Airport in Syracuse, N.Y., resulting in a loss of over $6 million in government property, the Air Force accident investigation board headed by Lt. Col. Brian E. Prichard said. The drone was assigned to the 174th Attack Wing and operated by the 108th Attack Squadron’s Launch and Recovery Element out of Hancock Field Air National Guard Base. The squadron is a training unit that produces newly qualified air crew, launch and recovery air crew, and instructor-qualified airmen for the Air National Guard and active Air Force.