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Drone crashes in Seychelles, second in four months
 VICTORIA - A U.S. drone crash-landed at the Seychelles main airport and careered
| Layers of fact and spell checking at Roooters... |
| So true. But in this case it's the fact that they're British, and speak a different language. |
into the ocean on Wednesday, the second remotely piloted MQ-9 Reaper aircraft to crash on the Indian Ocean archipelago in four months.
| Sure it crashed. It was a long flight. Went straight to bed. Next morning it woke up, emptied the hotel room mini-fridge, swallowed some aspirins and meandered down to the beach to sleep it off... |
The Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority (SCAA) said the aircraft had technical problems soon after taking off and tried to land at Seychelles International Airport on the main island of Mahe.
"It touched down on the runway and bounced a few times before ending (in) the sea at the extreme southern end of the runway," the SCAA said in a statement.
| Who the hell put an ocean at the end of the runway? |
A Reuters witness said police prevented reporters from entering a public area next to the end of the runway.
| "You there! No loitering in a public area!" |
There was no immediate comment from the U.S. embassy and it was not clear what the drone's mission had been.
| Basic flight safety training for the Seychellean air force? |
A classified U.S. diplomatic cable dated 2009 showed that unmanned aircraft carried out missions over Somalia and the Horn of Africa from the Seychelles. Local officials say drones based in the archipelago are also tracking pirates in regional waters.
Posted by: Steve White 2012-04-05 |
