DIY rubber cement brought down $4.6m drone

ERJ staff report (BC)

Washington, DC – Someone “tacked into place” a software chip that controlled an aileron on an armed US Predator drone which crashed in Afghanistan in May 2009.

The type of silicone vulcanising rubber cement used for minor car repairs was to blame, according to the US Air Force crash report. This makeshift approach was to facilitate removal of the chip for programming updates, the report said.

Vibration in flight knocked the chip loose, which in turn knocked out operation of the aileron and led to the crash and destruction of the $4.6 million drone.

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Crash report