Air Force Predator Crashes in Afghanistan

An MQ-1 Predator unmanned aerial vehicle, like this one sitting in a hangar at Balad Air Base, Iraq, crashed shortly after takeoff June 12 from Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Jonathan Steffen.)

Dispatches from the Front:

BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan, June 13, 2008 -- An Air Force MQ-1 Predator crashed following takeoff at approximately 2 a.m. local time June 12 here.

The aircraft was approximately six miles south of Kandahar Airfield.

The aircraft is a medium-altitude, long-endurance, remotely piloted aircraft. The MQ-1's primary mission is conducting armed reconnaissance.

A board will be convened to investigate the accident.

(Story by by Capt. Toni Tones, 455 Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs.)

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