A drone crash on Maryland’s Eastern Shore occurred on Monday, though no injuries or property damage was reported. According to a spokeswoman from the Unmanned Aviation and Strike Weapons program, the 44-foot unmanned plane was on a routine training mission when it crashed near Bloodsworth Island.
Due to the amount of burning debris at the crash site, authorities set up a safety zone around the site, preventing anyone from stumbling into the sizable indention left as a result of the mishap.
According to the Associated Press, the The Northrop Grumman RQ-4A BAMS-D drones are capable of flying 11 miles above the surface of the earth for upwards of 30 hours at a time. The drones are primarily used as surveillance, and come equipped with a radar that can “penetrate cloud-cover and sandstorms”. The plane, which can reach speeds of around 390mph, is operated on the ground by a crew of four individuals.
The bad news, of course, is that the drone cost upwards of $46 million, and was one of five that was recently acquired from the Air Force Global Hawk program.