LOS ANGELES – US Customs and Border Protection has grounded its drone fleet after a crew was forced to crash a pilotless craft off the coast of Southern California because of a mechanical problem, a spokesman said on Tuesday.
Customs and Border Protection says the drone was being flown on a border security mission when a mechanical problem developed about 20 miles southwest of San Diego late Monday night. Spokesman Mike Friel says the crew operating the drone from Texas decided to crash it in the ocean.
The $12 million surveillance drone was one of 10 that Homeland Security uses to patrol the border with Mexico. It was just one of two Predator B drones equipped with radar specifically designed to be used over the ocean.
Friel said the cause of the mechanical failure is unknown.