Video Shows Drone, Airliner Near-Collision

Editorial Staff

Tuesday, June 04, 2013 at 12:00 AM ET

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Key Takeaways:

A 2004 near-collision between a German Luna reconnaissance drone and an Airbus A300 over Kabul, which resulted in the drone's crash, has recently been highlighted, intensifying the debate over unmanned aircraft operations in European airspace.
This incident adds to ongoing controversy in Germany regarding its multi-million Euro investment in the Euro Hawk drone, which reportedly does not meet the necessary collision-avoidance standards for operating in European Union airspace.

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It was 2004 when a small Luna reconnaissance drone almost collided with an Ariana Airbus A300 over Kabul, but the video was posted online this week by Der Spiegel and is adding fuel to a debate over the use of unmanned aircraft in Europe’s airspace. About 100 passengers were on board the A300. According to Der Spiegel, the video from the drone was classified as “secret” in an accident investigation report, but the clip has been posted online for several years. The 88-pound drone hit the wake turbulence from the Airbus, crashed, and was never recovered, according to Der Spiegel.

Spokesmen for EMT, the company that manufactures the Luna drone, told Der Spiegel the Airbus had flown into restricted airspace where the drone was operating. Officials in Germany have been coping with controversy in recent weeks over the planned purchase of a Euro Hawk drone from Northrop Grumman. Officials reportedly invested hundreds of millions of Euros in the technology, which doesn’t meet the collision-avoidance standards required to operate in European Union airspace.