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Air Force

Air Force Blames MQ-9A Reaper Crash On Pilot Error

By Marc Selinger

Thursday, April 13th, 2017

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Air Force Blames MQ-9A Reaper Crash On Pilot Error

Investigators concluded that pilot error caused an Air Force MQ-9A Reaper unmanned aircraft to crash at Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan last year, the service announced April 13.According to Air Combat Command, the Reaper, built by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc., was returning from a combat support mission on Feb. 20, 2016; and went down while conducting a simulated engine flame-out training approach. An accident investigation board found that “the pilot set the power below the recommended power setting for simulated…

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