Secret' Video Shows German Drone Crashing Into Plane on Runway

Just last month, a supposedly declassified video showed a German-flown drone narrowly missing a flying Afghan passenger jet. Now, another "secret" video has made its way into public view, showing an unmanned aerial vehicle piloted remotely hitting a plane on a runway in Afghanistan.

The German tabloid paper Bild (translated via Google Translate) claims to have "exclusive video footage documenting another, earlier drone debacle." It describes the UAV as a IAI Heron ramming into a Transall C-160 Transport plane at a base in Northern Afghanistan.

Bild purports this photo to show the aftermath of the drone-plane crash on the runway. (Photo via Bild.de)

The incident occurred in March 2010, and Bild states that the files for the investigation were classified as "secret." At the time, Germany had leased three IAI Herons for 110 million euros. The drone was "heavily damaged," according to the report, but soldiers standing nearby were not injured.

Watch the footage from the perspective of the drone:

"Had the incident happened during the day when there is more operating on the airfield, it could have been a disaster," a member of the German military said according to the report.

The incident was billed as pilot error, occurring after the pilot accidentally started the drone and didn't know how to cancel his action at the time.

(H/T: Gizmodo)

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