Drone Crashes Near Florida Base

An unmanned drone crashed near a highway in Florida earlier this morning.

RT News reports that a QF-4 drone crashed near Tyndall Air Force Base. Witnesses said that they saw a large explosion and clouds of black smoke billowing up into the air.

Highway US 98 in the Silver Flag area is expected to be closed until tomorrow morning.

WJHG reports that no one is injured in the drone crash. Officials are being cautious about removing the debris since the QF-4 has a self-detonating device on board.

Officials are not certain if the device detonated during the crash but said that it only has a 24-hour battery life.

Officials at the Tyndall Air Force Base said: “This closure is being done strictly as a precautionary measure due to fires resulting from the crash and a small self-destruct charge carried on board the drone. The status of this device is unknown, however it is powered by a short-life battery which will be fully depleted in 24 hours.”

This is the second drone crash reported this month. Last week, officials said that they had to destroy another QF-4 due to safety considerations.

At the time, officials said: “The drone was carrying a small self-destruct charge and had to be destroyed for safety considerations during its return to base following a routine operation.”

PHOTO: US drone crashes in Florida, causing fire & prompting closure of nearby highway pic.twitter.com/MEyIKwYOQZ

— RT (@RT_com) July 17, 2013

[Image Via Wiki Commons]