ANALYSIS OF THE SIGNIFICANCE OF FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO THE PILOTLESS VEHICLE ACCIDENT RATE

Abstract

Analysis of the air accident rates of MQ-1 Predators and MQ-9 Reapers from the Drone Crash Database in the period from 2001 till 2021 (12 countries, 174 accidents total) disclosed major factors, including human, for accidents. The main reason was structural faults and manufacturing defects due to, probably, long time in service. Frequency of accidents due to errors of experienced pilot-operator's varied between 19.4% and 22.9 % and due to errors in the course of skill training, 60–64.7 %. To reduce the accident rate, pilot-operators need to be trained on cutting-edge VR simulators and challenged by atypical stress situations such as multiple causation.