# Accident 20080728841739A: Raythn COBRA, Colorado Sprin, CO, July 28, 2008

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: July 28, 2008, 12:00 local time
- Place: Colorado Sprin, CO
- Airport: Usaf Academy Afld
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Level Off Touchdown
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 38.9697° N, 104.8131° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=38.9697&lon=-104.8131&mi=10
- Aircraft: N601RN, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N601RN-2009-08-27) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Raytheon COBRA (registry code 061001A, https://openairdocs.org/model/raytheon-cobra) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Desert ACF DA-150 (registry code 20500, https://openairdocs.org/engine/desert-acf-da-150) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: RAYTHN COBRA
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 0 total, 0 in this make and model, 0 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB DEN08IA130](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN08IA130) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20080728841739A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

(-23) ON JULY 28, 2008, EXPERIMENTAL RAYTHEON COBRA UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEM (UAS), N601RN SUSTAINED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE WHEN IT COLLIDED WITH A LIGHT POLE WHILE MANEUVERING FOR A PRE-PROGRAMMED LANDING. THE AIRCRAFT WAS REGISTERED TO AND OPERATED BY THE RAYTHEON COMPANY OF TUSAN, ARIZONA. THERE WERE NO INJURIES TO PERSON ON THE GROUND. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED FOR THE 14 CFR PART 91 "DEMONSTRATION FLIGHT", AND NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED. THE AIRCRAFT HAD DEPARTED FROM A ROAD PARALLELING TO ONE OF THE ATHLETIC FIELDS ON THE GROUNDS OF THE U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY AT APPROXIMATELY 1206, AND WAS RETURNING TO THE LOCATION WHEN THE ACCIDENT OCCURRED.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB DEN08IA130](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN08IA130), Jul 28, 2008: Raytheon Cobra (N601RN), Colorado Springs, CO, incident, substantial damage. Probable cause: The flight team's failure to program the UAS with flight-tested parameters that could tolerate the high density altitude and tailwind conditions encounted during the flight, which resulted in two…

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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