The US Navy says an aerial drone malfunctioned and struck a guided missile cruiser during training off California, causing two minor injuries.
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Lt. Lenaya Rotklein says the accident on the
USS Chancellorsville happened Saturday afternoon while the ship was
testing its combat weapons system. She says two sailors
were treated for minor burns. She says the ship is heading back to Naval
Base San Diego so officials can assess the damage.
The Navy is investigating the cause of the drone malfunction.
This
is the second drone crash to occur this week in the US after an
unmanned craft malfunctioned andcame down over Lake Ontario on Tuesday,
prompting the suspension of all drone flights in the Central New York
area. The military was unable to say why the $4 million
Reaper drone lost control and crashed, but reported there was no damage
to civilian property or injuries. Anti-drones activists
have slammed the US government’s use of the unmanned craft on American
soil, citing the increasing number of accidents.
"One of the notorious things about drones and Reapers is their high accident rate," Ed Kinane a Syracuse-based peace activist told syracuse.com on Tuesday. "A general concern is that because the military is so in love with drones and the Reaper, it appears they have rushed these things into production."
Bloomberg calculated in a 2012 survey that on average there were 9.31 accidents for every 100,000 hours of drone flight.
Nevertheless
the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has resolved to push ahead
with a plan to expand the use of drones in American airspace by 2015.
Sources: New Zealand Herald, RT
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