Thread: Mexican drone crashes in Texas during test UPDATED

Mexican drone crashes in Texas during test

Aircraft goes out of control, plunges into backyard in El Paso, U.S. official tells NBC News

updated 37 minutes ago 2010-12-17T20:19:22

A small unmanned Mexican drone that crashed into a backyard in El Paso, Texas, was part of a surveillance test by Mexican authorities that ended abruptly when operators lost control of the aircraft, a U.S. security official told NBC News on Friday.

The Department of Homeland Security official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the 7-foot-long Orbiter Mini UAV drone flew off course during the test on Tuesday, then veered into Texas airspace and crashed behind a house in El Paso's former agricultural area, where homes are typically built on 1-acre lots. No one was hurt.

The official did not know whether Mexican law enforcement or military officials were operating the aircraft, but said that the Mexican government was using it for surveillance of the border, NBC News reported.

U.S. officials did not release the exact location of the crash, but sources have said it was less than a mile from the border. The neighborhood is separated from Mexico by the Rio Grande, floodlights, the 15- to 18-foot tall border fence, a chain-link fence, a line of poles with surveillance cameras and a highway, according to The El Paso Times, which first reported the crash.

"We responded to a concerned citizen's call and recovered a small Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), which belonged to the Government of Mexico (GOM)," Jenny L. Burke, a spokeswoman for Homeland Security, said in a statement.

The lightweight drone, intended for use in military and homeland security missions, as well as low intensity conflicts and urban warfare operations, was built by Aeronautics Defense Systems of Yavneh, Israel, according to the Times.

The aircraft is launched from a rail, and can stay aloft for 3-4 hours, carrying a payload of up to 3.3 pounds, according to the manufacturer's website.

The National Transportation Safety Board is collecting data on the crash from the Border Patrol, said spokesman Keith Holloway, NTSB spokesman.

"We're not sending anyone to the site and the aircraft has already been returned to its owner — the Mexican government," Holloway said.

El Paso Police Detective Mike Baranyay confirmed the Border Patrol handed back the drone to Mexican officials at one of the international bridges. Border Patrol Agent Ramiro Cordero said numerous agencies were involved in returning the aircraft.

Officials at the Mexican consul's office in El Paso did not immediately comment.

Vincent Perez, spokesman for U.S. Rep. Silvestre Reyes, said the congressman's office was notified about the incident Thursday after asking the Department of Homeland Security about media reports of the drone.

"We don't have all the details yet, but we expect to receive more information because we would like to know what happened," said Perez on Friday.

Reyes, a former chief of the Border Patrol's El Paso sector, chairs the House Select Committee on Intelligence.

Perez said he was familiar with the area and its proximity to the border.

"Having grown up in El Paso, I wouldn't be surprising to see that level of cooperation between the U.S. and Mexico and that it is a very positive relationship," Perez said. "But it seems that authorities dropped the ball by not saying anything and now have added fuel to conspiracy theorists."

John Concha, a spokesman for the El Paso Fire Department, said emergency units were not sent to the crash site because no one was injured.

NBC News Pentagon correspondent Pete Williams, msnbc.com's Sevil Omer, the Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40716199/ns ... -security/

Something bothers me here. Mexican corrupt law enforcement using it to find a clear smuggling route. Or even their corrupted military.

We have 10, or more, much larger drones that patrol the border and fly into Mexico's airspace all of the time, with their knowledge and permission. So the U.S. knows about, and approves of, their drones too.

RELATED

Unmanned U.S. aircraft patrol U.S.-Mexico border

http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-218907-drones.html

Mexico drone

Should Mexico or the U.S. have aerial drones on the border?

Total Votes = 5144

Yes, as long as it helps fight drug/human smugglers.
70.10 %

Yes, if the U.S. has them why not Mexico.
13.58 %

No, neither country should be able to snoop on each other.
2.430 %

No, there is potential for abuse.
10.86 %

Have not made up my mind.
3.013 %

www.elpasotimes.com/

Mexico government: No laws violated in drone crash

By Adriana Gómez Licón / El Paso Times
Posted: 12/17/2010 05:49:48 PM MST

Mexico drone

Should Mexico or the U.S. have aerial drones on the border? Read story

Total Votes = 5432

Yes, as long as it helps fight drug/human smugglers.
69.82 %

Yes, if the U.S. has them why not Mexico.
13.80 %

No, neither country should be able to snoop on each other.
2.411 %

No, there is potential for abuse.
10.97 %

Have not made up my mind.
2.982 %

Mexican drone crash

Mexican authorities said Friday that Mexico did not violate any laws when one of its drones smashed into the ground in El Paso earlier this week.
Officials at the Mexican Embassy in Washington, D.C., said U.S. agencies approved the crash landing Tuesday.

Mexican Embassy spokesman Ricardo Alday said the drone had a mechanical failure as it was flying near the border in Juárez on narcotics surveillance.

"The drone was flying in the border area as part of coordinated operations and a breakdown forced it to descend on the U.S. side," Alday said. "All this was done with the coordination and in tune with U.S. authorities."

The drone, known as the Orbiter Mini, crashed in a backyard of an El Paso home Tuesday evening. The site was on Craddock Avenue, near the intersection with Yarbrough Drive - about three-quarters of a mile from the border line.

U.S. Border Patrol agents retrieved the drone and turned it over to investigators with the Department of Homeland Security.

Homeland Security investigators gave the damaged drone back to the Secretariat of Public Safety, or the Mexican federal police, at an international bridge, said Border Patrol spokesman Ramiro Cordero. He did not know which port of entry agents used for the delivery of the aircraft.

The National Transportation Safety Board was still investigating the crash Friday.

"We are still collecting data at this time," said NTSB spokesman Keith Holloway. "Why it crashed is still under investigation." Cordero said the drone designed by Aeronoautics Defense Systems was very small.
"It can probably fit inside a truck," he said.

The lightweight aircraft is used in military and Homeland Security missions, according to the developer's website. It can be used for reconnaissance missions, low-intensity conflicts and urban warfare.

http://www.elpasotimes.com/newupdated/ci_16886479

If one of our drones ever goes down in Mexico will we get it back that quick?
Will they deliver it to us at the border?

Originally Posted by JohnDoe2

If one of our drones ever goes down in Mexico will we get it back that quick?
Will they deliver it to us at the border?

I think we all know the answer to that question. The bigger question is, why would mexico need drones on their side of the border? It's not as if millions of Americans are entering mexico illegally. And we all know mexico is doing nothing to stop the millions of its citizens from entering our country illegally each year. Why would they when these invaders send home billions in remittances each year.

So what are the drones being used for? Are they being used to conduct surveillance of American and military law enforcement in an effort to aid and abet their drug smugglers and illegal invaders entering our country illegally?

Originally Posted by NoBueno

Originally Posted by JohnDoe2

If one of our drones ever goes down in Mexico will we get it back that quick?
Will they deliver it to us at the border?

I think we all know the answer to that question. The bigger question is, why would mexico need drones on their side of the border? It's not as if millions of Americans are entering mexico illegally. And we all know mexico is doing nothing to stop the millions of its citizens from entering our country illegally each year. Why would they when these invaders send home billions in remittances each year.

So what are the drones being used for? Are they being used to conduct surveillance of American and military law enforcement in an effort to aid and abet their drug smugglers and illegal invaders entering our country illegally?

Mexico is looking for drugs and weapons with their drones.

Mexican Embassy spokesman Ricardo Alday said the drone had a mechanical failure as it was flying near the border in Juárez on narcotics surveillance.

Originally Posted by JohnDoe2

Originally Posted by NoBueno

Originally Posted by JohnDoe2

If one of our drones ever goes down in Mexico will we get it back that quick?
Will they deliver it to us at the border?

I think we all know the answer to that question. The bigger question is, why would mexico need drones on their side of the border? It's not as if millions of Americans are entering mexico illegally. And we all know mexico is doing nothing to stop the millions of its citizens from entering our country illegally each year. Why would they when these invaders send home billions in remittances each year.

So what are the drones being used for? Are they being used to conduct surveillance of American and military law enforcement in an effort to aid and abet their drug smugglers and illegal invaders entering our country illegally?

Mexico is looking for drugs and weapons with their drones.

Mexican Embassy spokesman Ricardo Alday said the drone had a mechanical failure as it was flying near the border in Juárez on narcotics surveillance.

I see....

Mexican Police Drone Plane Crashes Near El Paso Home

By JAMES C. McKINLEY Jr.
Published: December 17, 2010

HOUSTON — A small unmanned plane belonging to the Mexican federal police crashed in a residential neighborhood in El Paso this week, but no one was injured and the drone was quickly returned to the Mexican government, officials from both governments said Friday.

The drone was following a specific target in Ciudad Juárez, across the Rio Grande from El Paso, on Tuesday evening when its operators lost control because of a mechanical malfunction, officials said. The seven-foot aircraft went down after dark behind a house near Craddock Avenue and South Yarbrough Drive, The El Paso Times reported.

“The plane is ours, and if it did violate U.S. airspace, it was only because of a mechanical malfunction,â€