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Vice President
Mexican drone crashes in backyard of El Paso home
Seems to me that someone at the DHS wants to cover for Mexico on this.by Diana Washington Valdez and Daniel Borunda / El Paso Times
Posted: 12/17/2010 12:00:00 AM MST
A Mexican drone crashed in El Paso's Lower Valley, sparking a federal investigation and raising questions about why the aircraft was in U.S. airspace.
"We are collecting data about the crash. We don't have the aircraft because it was returned to its owner," said Keith Holloway, spokesman for the National Transportation Safety Board, which investigates aircraft crashes in the United States and in other countries that request its help.
Though the U.S. is known to use drones to patrol the border, this is thought to be the first time a Mexican drone has been reported operating at the border.
The drone crashed Tuesday on Craddock Avenue, near the intersection with Yarbrough Drive.
Holloway said the aircraft that crossed into U.S. airspace is a mini orbiter unmanned aerial vehicle developed by the Aeronautics Defense System.
According to the developer's website, the aircraft is designed for use in military and Homeland Security missions. It can be used for reconnaissance missions, low-intensity conflicts and urban warfare.
Officials at the Mexican consul's office in El Paso did not call back to provide details about what kind of operation the drone was a part of, how long drones have been in use or which government agency controlled it.
Vincent Perez, spokesman for U.S. Rep. Silvestre Reyes, said, "Our office was notified about the incident today (Thursday) after we asked Department of Homeland Security about the press reports on it. We don't have all the details yet, but we expect to receive more information."
Reyes, D-Texas, former chief of the U.S. Border Patrol-El Paso sector, is chairman of the House Select Committee on Intelligence.
Perez said Reyes' staff was certain that drones were not part of the equipment earmarked for Mexico under the Merida Initiative.
The North American Aerospace Defense Command would not comment on the incident and referred all questions to the Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection.
In a statement, Jenny L. Burke, spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, said, "We responded to a concerned citizen's call and recovered a small Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), which belonged to the Government of Mexico (GOM).
"We worked collaboratively with the GOM and other U.S. federal agencies to coordinate the return of the UAV to (Mexico)."
Neither Department of Homeland Security or U.S. Border Patrol officials would say why the drone was returned to Mexico before investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board could inspect it.
Legend of USPO
It just came here in seach of better airspace.
Take a good hard look, it's coming.
Secretary of Defense
Perhaps it was someone's hobby plane?
Vice President
Thats a lot of money for only 1.5kg of crack.Originally Posted by erikvv
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Vice President
OMG, Mexican agents have infiltrated our DHS. They're sending drones over to spread anthrax prior to invasion.Mexican drone crashes in backyard of El Paso home
Seems to me that someone at the DHS wants to cover for Mexico on this.
To arms, citizens, it is time we ended this threat once and for all. Then we can go after Belize and Costa Rica (we already own Guatemala, Nicaragua and Panama.)
Jesus Christ, a fucking model airplane went astray. You'd think you guys would be happy the Mexicans are doing something about border surveillance but noooo.....
Vice President
I would prefer not having one land on my house thank you.
Vice President
Why is that?
"There is no gain in arguing with a poo flinging monkey. While his
gibbering and raucous cries of victory may seem obnoxious in your ears
as you walk away, he will soon be quietly sitting behind his bars again
and licking his own feces off his fingers as you carry on with your day."
Vice President
I'm sorry, did you just ask me why I wouldn't want a plane to crash into my house?
Vice President
a. It's a MODEL AIRPLANE, not a 747 or a even a Piper Cub. It looks to be 6 feet across, tops. It likely couldn't do more damage than your homeowner's deductible, certainly not more than a windstorm and probably none at all.
b. It landed in the STREET, according to the article, not on a house or even in a yard.
Oh, and I speak from some experience here. I HAD a 4 foot model of a ME109 land on my roof. Besides badly embarrssing a model plane owner it did no damage at all.
Those things look big but they're light beyond belief. They couldn't fly if they weren't, not without outsize wings, the square cube law applies to everything, even the amount of lift generated by a given surface.
Vice President
What didn't make sense to me is that these RC planes don't have much range. Usually a few hundred feet at most. If one of these planes runs out of range of its controller, it starts circling. So... was this really a Mexican operation? Or is this just a story to keep a bigger story from being told?
"There is no gain in arguing with a poo flinging monkey. While his
gibbering and raucous cries of victory may seem obnoxious in your ears
as you walk away, he will soon be quietly sitting behind his bars again
and licking his own feces off his fingers as you carry on with your day."
Vice President
According to its maker it has a range of from 15 to 80 km, considering on how big the ground terminal is
Vice President
The name of the maker is another part of the mystery. There is some question as to who the maker is. Several guesses. I am not a conspiracy theorist kind of guy, but this story doesn't hang together very well.
"There is no gain in arguing with a poo flinging monkey. While his
gibbering and raucous cries of victory may seem obnoxious in your ears
as you walk away, he will soon be quietly sitting behind his bars again
and licking his own feces off his fingers as you carry on with your day."
Vice President
The link I gave seemed quite specific, the pictures used in the article were right from it. What do you think someone is trying to do anyway??
Vice President
Yes, and all the reports are pretty exact. Probably that is exactly what it was. No one who actually saw the drone has confirmed the make & model. In fact, the people involved have been pretty much silent. Everyone else is doing the talking, and their stories are all remarkably alike, even though they were not directly involved. Something about the whole story is making my Used Bull Food Meter go ding ding ding.The link I gave seemed quite specific, the pictures used in the article were right from it. What do you think someone is trying to do anyway??
I'd add this: its fargin' drone! How big of a conspiracy could it possibly be? lol Is the problem that Mexican drones are taking a run for the border, too?
"There is no gain in arguing with a poo flinging monkey. While his
gibbering and raucous cries of victory may seem obnoxious in your ears
as you walk away, he will soon be quietly sitting behind his bars again
and licking his own feces off his fingers as you carry on with your day."
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