Posted on: Monday, September 6, 2004

Report says unmanned aircraft was unstable

Associated Press

Too little analysis, an inadequate risk assessment, and an "inappropriate decision" led to the destruction of a $15 million unmanned aircraft over waters off Kaua'i more than a year ago, a NASA panel has concluded.

The five-member panel said changes in the Helios flying wing from a model that set a world high-altitude record in 2001 made the aircraft unstable in turbulence that occurred off Kaua'i's Leeward Coast when it crashed on June 26, 2003.

The plane, built and operated by AeroVironment, Inc., of Monrovia, Calif., fluctuated up and down, exceeding its design speed, before breaking up and crashing into the ocean, the investigation said.

The panel said, however, that enough data is available on high-altitude, long-endurance flight to continue the program and conduct future successful flights.