Put helmets over your tin foil hats. Pennsylvania authorities are investigating why an unmanned drone crash landed near a Pennsylvania elementary school on Wednesday.
The drone has been identified as a 375-pound RQ-7 Shadow, operated by the Pennsylvania Army National Guard. A military official, in the military terminology of a crash, called Wednesday afternoon’s incident “a hard landing.” After the “hard landing” the drone was then apparently run over by a vehicle.
Guardsmen reportedly retrieved pieces of the 11-foot x 14-foot aircraft from the front of Lickdale Elementary School, which is outside Harrisburg. The drone reportedly lost power at some point during the flight. There were no injuries on the ground and the drone was destroyed.
A school official told FoxNews.com that the students had already left the school at the time of the crash.
A public affairs officer told the local newspaper that they were conducting a training exercise at nearby Fort Indiantown Gap.
The UAV, worth $125,000, will be a total loss.
It is used by the United States Army and Marine Corps for reconnaissance and surveillance.
The Pennsylvania Army National Guard conducts training operations with the RQ-7 Shadow and RQ-11 Raven unmanned aerial vehicles out of Fort Indiantown Gap over the installation’s approved airspace.
Likely, there may be more instances of drones coming down in the future. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) projects that 30,000 drones could be in the nation’s skies by 2020.
Some drones are as small as model aircraft, while others have the wingspan of a full-size jet.
The legislation would order the FAA, before the end of the year, to expedite the process through which it authorizes the use of drones by federal, state and local police and other agencies. The FAA currently issues certificates, which can cover multiple flights by more than one aircraft in a particular area, on a case-by-case basis.
The Department of Homeland Security is the only federal agency to discuss openly its use of drones in domestic airspace.
Disclaimer: On January 4, 2016, the owner of WestEastonPA.com began serving on the West Easton Council following an election. Postings and all content found on this website are the opinions of Matthew A. Dees and may not necessarily represent the opinion of the governing body for The Borough of West Easton.
Related Posts:
- Drone Ordinance To Be Presented For Council Consideration
- The Three Amigos – Read The New Burn, Nuisance, And Drone Ordinances Being…
- I’m Working On Introducing A Burn Ordinance, Updating Nuisance Ordinance
- The 97 Different Taxes In The U.S. Tax Code
- KIA And Hyundai Flaw Results In Stolen Vehicles – 2 In West Easton
