An Air Force MQ-1 Predator unmanned aerial vehicledrone went down in Southern Turkey on Monday, marking at least the fourth crash of the aircraft this year.
The aircraft experienced mechanical failure after conducting a mission in support of Operation Inherent Resolve, according to an Oct. 21 statement from U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Air Forces Africa. The Air Force maintained "positive control" and brought the UAVdrone down in an unpopulated area, the release states.
There were no military or civilian injuries. Leadership has launched an investigation to determine the root cause of the crash, according to the statement.
This is at least the fourth Predator crash since the beginning of the year. In May, a Predator went down when it was conducting launch and recovery training operations at Creech Air Force Base, Nevada, due to an engine turbocharger failure.
In March, a UAV drone crashed while flying over northwest Syria. Another aircraft went down in June during a combat mission over Iraq.
An Air Force MQ-9A Reaper drone also crashed over international waters in February due to a generator problem and electrical failure.
Email: lseligman@defensenews.com
Twitter: @laraseligman
