Human Factors Issues with the Predator Ground Control Station

Human Factors Issues with the Predator Ground Control Station

The MQ-1 Predator is probably the most well-known Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) in service due to the controversy surrounding the airstrikes it is tasked for. Since the Predator has been in use so long, a lot of information has been gathered concerning human factors issues related to unmanned operations.

            The system has a very simple set up. The Predator is controlled via a Ground Control Station (GCS) which sends and receives a signal via a line-of-sight data link or a satellite data link vehicle. The GCS is basically a mobile trailer designed to house the pilot and sensor operator (Valdes).

            This type of “remote cockpit” can lend itself to various human factors difficulties. One such issue occurred in Nogales Arizona in 2006. A Predator B crashed after two pilots failed to conduct the proper handoff checklist during a shift change. The GCS for the Predator B requires all switches on both stations to match before a change of controls is conducted. If all switches do not match, an undesired command signal can be sent to the Unmanned Aircraft (UA). In the case of the Arizona crash, the pilot did not move the fuel switch to the proper position, causing the fuel system to shut off when controls were handed off to the other station. This in turn caused a loss of power aboard the UA, which made backup systems inoperable (“Another predator crash-pilot” 2007).

            Even though this accident resulted in no injuries or fatalities, the UA did crash within 100 yards of a residential area. The NTSB issued a safety recommendation in which they advised developing a safety plan to include better procedures for the hand off phase of flight (“Safety recommendation a-07-086” 2007).

            Another problem with any ground control station is the possibility of a “lost link” situation, in which the pilots will lose all radio communications with the UA. This often results in the UA flying randomly until it crashes. Just last year, four US Predator UAs went missing because of a lost link with their GCS. The US Air Force has still not recovered any of the UAs or their hellfire missile payloads that they were carrying at the time. The aircraft are presumed to have crashed, but without physical evidence it is impossible to say what might have happened to the munitions onboard (Whitlock, 2014).

            Some of these issues are present in manned aircraft (such as failure to conduct checklists) while others are not (lost link situations). The advantage that UAVs have is the ability to gain accident information with relatively zero risk to human life. These accidents are valuable because the information gathered from them can be used to implement safety procedures before the civilian airspace is opened to UAVs, reducing the chance of civilian casualties from unmanned accidents.

Whitlock, C. (2014, June 20). Over afghanistan, drones that vanished without a trace. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2014/06/20/over-afghanistan-drones-that-vanished-without-a-trace/

Valdes, R. (n.d.). How the predator uav works. Retrieved from http://science.howstuffworks.com/predator.htm

Another predator crash–pilot error or latent design flaw?. (2007, October 25). Retrieved from http://resilientcognitivesolutions.com/wordpress/2007/10/another-predator-crash-pilot-error-or-latent-design-flaw/

Safety recommendation a-07-086. (2007, October 24). Retrieved from http://www.ntsb.gov/about/employment/_layouts/ntsb.recsearch/Recommendation.aspx?Rec=A-07-086