Accident · 2006-04-25

What the record says

Event date

2006-04-25

Event type

Accident

Highest injury level

No injuries

Aircraft

GENERAL ATOMICS PREDATOR B (NUNREG)

Operating rule

PUBU

Operator

operator not named in the NTSB record

Probable cause

The pilot's failure to use checklist procedures when switching operational control from PPO-1 to PPO-2, which resulted in the fuel valve inadvertently being shut off and the subsequent total loss of engine power, and lack of a flight instructor in the GCS, as required by the CBP's approval to allow the pilot to fly the Predator B. Factors associated with the accident were repeated and unresolved console lockups, inadequate maintenance procedures performed by the manufacturer, and the operator's inadequate surveillance of the UAS program.

Flight crew

Flight-crew details for this event aren't in the NTSB database extract we hold (its coverage starts with 2008 events) — a gap in our data, not an absence of crew.