Training Interventions to Reduce Air Force Predator Mishaps

摘要

The use of unmanned aerial systems (UASs) is expanding rapidly. In military operations, this increased use was often accompanied by relatively high mishap rates compared with rates across more mature manned aircraft. These higher rates led to multiple high-level reviews of unmanned operations to understand the issues, but surprisingly little consensus emerged across reports regarding root causes. To help close this gap, Air Force Predator Class A mishap reports through FY 2006 were analyzed in detail. Mishap rates, counts, and causal factors were all found to shift systematically over time, with a rise in mishap reports citing shortfalls in several skill and knowledge areas in FY 2004-2006. Individual and team Predator training objectives were revisited and the content of crew resource management (CRM) training was refocused on improving these key operator skills. In FY 2007-2008, Predator Class A mishaps attributed to operator error decreased despite increasing numbers of mishaps overall.