Role of unmanned aircraft questioned.

• Author: Magnuson, Stew
• Position: SURVEILLANCE

UNTIL APRIL 25, THE Department of Homeland Security was high on the use of unmanned aerial vehicles to patrol the southern border. That's when its lone Predator B aircraft crashed in the middle of the night in the desert northwest of Nogales, Ariz.

DHS and Customs and Border Protection had touted the success of the UAV, and planned to add a second this summer. Whether there will be two Predators will be up to congressional appropriators, who are awaiting a final report from the National Transportation Safety Board on the cause of the crash.

Border Patrol Chief David Aguilar told National Defense that CBP still plans on maintaining a fleet of two Predators. The second should arrive on the southwest border in August, he said after a House hearing. As for a replacement for the lost aircraft, that remains to be decided.

"We're looking at ... potentially replacing it and how we will replace it," Aguilar said. It may depend on where the liability lies for the crash, he added.

An NTSB preliminary report indicates pilot error. The pilot, operating the aircraft from Libby Army Airfield, Sierra Vista, Ariz., told investigators that the controls on his console locked up. As a backup, he switched to a second console, which doubles as the control system for the cameras and sensors. The pilot failed to match the control positions on the second console to the first as required, and he did not notice that the fuel cutoff switch was turned on. With its fuel cut off, the Predator lost power and crashed, according to the report.

While the use of UAVs to keep tabs on remote areas of the border has its proponents, the crash has given ammunition to critics.

The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, which represents general aviation concerns, has lobbied Congress to restrict UAV use, particularly in the altitudes where its members fly. The association has the ear of at least one appropriator, Rep. Marion Berry, D-Ark., who after receiving a briefing from the association's lobbyists, grilled a Customs and Border Protection official at a hearing as to why general aviation concerns didn't have a seat at the table when the UAV procedures were being discussed, according to an association statement.

The official said if the sensors aboard the aircraft could be upgraded...