General Atomics MQ-9B CBP213
15 May 2020 · San Angelo, Texas, United States · Unknown
Summary
On 15 May 2020 at about 15:26 local time, a General Atomics MQ-9B registered CBP213, operated by Customs and Border Protection, was involved in an accident near San Angelo, Texas, United States. The number of people on board was not recorded. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.
The record
- Date
- at 15:26
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- San Angelo, Texas, United States
- Nearest airport
- San Angelo Regional/Mathis Fie (SJT`)
- Coordinates
- 31.3578, -100.4964
- Aircraft
- General Atomics MQ-9B
- Registration
- CBP213
- Category
- Airplane
- Year built
- 2011
- Operator
- Customs and Border Protection
- Operating rule
- Public Use
- Purpose of flight
- Unknown
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- San Angelo → San Angelo
- Aircraft damage
- Destroyed
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- CEN20CA178
People
Injuries not recorded.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Not recorded | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain an adequate landing flare that resulted in a porpoise and impact with terrain.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
The pilot of the unmanned aircraft system (UAS) attempted a touch-and-go landing but then performed a go-around due to an unstable approach. The pilot re-entered the UAS into the traffic pattern for a second touch-and-go landing attempt, during which it initially touched down nose first and induced a porpoise. During the third porpoise, the UAS contacted the runway in a nose-down attitude resulting in a hard landing and post-crash fire. The UAS was destroyed by the post-crash fire. There was no mechanical malfunction/failure of the UAS at the time of the accident.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 Jun 2020 | Cessna 182 | Winfield, Texas, United States | Brentco Aerial Patrol | Serious injuries | - |
| 2 May 2020 | MD Helicopters 369 | Houston, Texas, United States | City Of Houston | Fatal | 1 |
| 28 Dec 2020 | Piper PA-30 | Navasota, Texas, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 24 Jun 2020 | CubCrafters CC19-180 | Fredericksburg, Texas, United States | Kgnf, LLC | No injuries | - |
| 27 Jun 2020 | Piper PA32R | Zavalla, Texas, United States | - | Fatal | 1 |
| 6 Nov 2020 | Cirrus SR20 | Fort Worth, Texas, United States | Plane Smart! Aviation | No injuries | - |