Issues Range From Mechanical Problems To Human Error

The U.S. military has experienced more than 400 accidents involving UAVs, according to a report appearing in The Washington Post.

The paper culled through some 50,000 pages of accident investigation reports dating back to the 9/11 attacks, and found that the unmanned aircraft have suffered from mechanical and weather issues as well as human error.

The investigation looked at accident between September 11, 2001 and the end of 2013. It found 418 known accidents including 194 "Class A" accidents that resulted in the total loss of the aircraft or damages over $2 million. That is similar to the number of accident involving manned aircraft over the same period, but the UAVs fly "far fewer missions and hours," according to the report.

The Post reports that 47 of those accidents occurred during testing and training in the U.S. The Predator ... perhaps one of the most-recognizable of the military's UAVs, was involved in 102 Class A accidents during the period studied.

Sixty-seven of the accidents occurred in Afghanistan, with another 41 in Iraq, according to the report.

(Predator B pictured in file photo)

FMI: www.defense.gov