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"We've been hit." The call for help came at 09:49 ZULU on 10/1/96 from the Predator UAV pilot in Tazar, Hungary. The pilot reported that the vehicle was still in the air, but he had lost the video feed, oil pressure and telemetry data. Because the video feed was lost, MSIIA was used to find the vehicle's location by retrieving geo-registered digital videos from the previous ten minutes of flight. Once the location was determined, MSIIA was used to examine past image data in the area to get an indication if the vehicle was actually fired upon. The flight area was in the area of Jusiki, a contested mountain village where Muslim civilians were attempting to move back into their homes. The village is about 40 km E of Tuzla. Initial analysis on MSIIA revealed several roadblocks around the village manned with APCs (Armored Personnel Carriers) and medium duty trucks. There were antenna whips and individuals lightly armed, but no evidence of fire on Predator. MSIIA's evidence that Predator was not fired upon was confirmed when, four minutes after the initial distress call, the video feed and telemetry data was brought back on-line.
MSIIA was then used to pull geo-registered Eagle Vision and CIB (Controlled Image Base) satellite imagery from its database of the predicted impact sites. Others in the ISARC (Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance Cell) pulled 1:50 scale paper maps of the area. There was confusion about the nature of the probable impact zone since the paper 1:50 maps were considerably different from the satellite based imagery in MSIIA. The difference turned out to be inaccuracies due to the age of the paper maps. For example, a marginally distinguishable mine symbol on the map turned out to be a strip mine that had grown to several square kilometers over the years since the map was created. There were also several new roads in the area supporting the strip mine. Every effort was being made to divert the vehicle away from populated areas while maintaining accessibility for recovery. Prediction of the probable crash site was enhanced because the video feed from the vehicle remained live through the crash (in fact the video transmission survived the crash!) With the live video from MSIIA, analysts were able to track the flight path of the vehicle and aim the EO (Electronic Optical) sensor. Information on the optimal ditch site was then fed back to the pilot. At 10:12 ZULU (23 minutes from the initial loss of engine and signal) the vehicle bellied in, losing one wing but remained surprisingly intact.
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The aircraft was gliding at a sink rate of approximately 500 feet per
minute and heading back home NW, attempting to drift as far as possible
over the zone of separation. It soon became obvious that the vehicle
would have to ditch; the question now was where. A quick calculation
using the sink rate, altitude, and heading produced a gross estimate
of a 1 x 5 km impact area approximately 25 km northeast of Tuzla.
A Navy P-3 was then vectored to the site while a helicopter team (Russian!)
was scrambled from Tuzla in order to secure the site. Later that afternoon,
the vehicle was transferred back to Tuzla where it was determined that
there was no sign of externally inflicted damage. In fact, thanks to
the MSIIA system and the quick thinking of everyone involved, the Predator
vehicle was repaired and back in operation for its next scheduled mission.