Actual Near Miss - I saw it myself - Helicopter/Military Drone

[m0j0]

So I was coming in to work this morning and see a drone at about 200 feet AGL. I drive every day past the AFB and they fly the "real drones" all the time. Touch and go's practice landings etc. When I get about 1/2 a mile away I see one of the Air Force Drones. They are about the size of a small plane. Anyway I am passing the the end of the runway and look up... a helicopter passes about 100 yards from the drone. Holy crap! My first thought was why was why are they both fling at relatively the same altitude. I'm certain they were different altitudes but still they were too close. Second why in the world is the helicopter flying on the same side of the runway. It seemed really stupid. I know, I know, I am certain that they both had contact with the tower and were coordinated in their flight but... why would they not give more room. They absolutely did not need to fly that close. It's like you pull up to the stadium parking lot. You are the first one there and some jackhammer parks in the next space to your car. Any of you pilots know why they would do this??

The drone actually made a really sharp turn to create distance. Could have been really bad and it was really not necessary. The nearest plane aside from these two is 100 miles in any direction. Visibility is about 70 miles. Unecessary risk if you ask me but I'm just a dumb MP operator.

 

[DanB]

One possibility is testing the Traffic system (TCAS) in the helicopter and or the drone. We test TCAS systems routinely post maintenance/customizing to ensure proper positioning and audio alerting. I don't know anything about the systems installed on the military drones so not much help there.

 

[erkme73]

That was a near-hit. A collision is a near-miss. Sorry, but George Carlin ruined that for me...

 

[m0j0]

One possibility is testing the Traffic system (TCAS) in the helicopter and or the drone. We test TCAS systems routinely post maintenance/customizing to ensure proper positioning and audio alerting. I don't know anything about the systems installed on the military drones so not much help there.

interesting. I'm betting the drone absolutely has a sophisticated system that makes them aware of anything that could impact it. So the probability of a collision is likely very small. As I said earlier though, why risk either aircraft?

 

[Jblmd2004]

Saw this helicopter that looked like a giant drone today. Anyone know what it is ?

 

[Lapeer20m]

Saw this helicopter that looked like a giant drone today. Anyone know what it is ?

Osprey

Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey - Wikipedia

 

[rydfree]

Ospreys fly over here all the time and when I was growing up near Fort Rucker we would watch the helicopters play in farmers fields all the time . I've seen them pass each other way closer than 100 yards before playing hide and seek with the Kiowas trying to track them .

 

[Dw911]

Why not, if you have only secured the runway/ airport, you would most likely want a gunship or two in close proximity protecting your assets coming in to land or taking off.
Or just helicopters taking off when planes are landing and taking of, Offten don't have the luxury of a huge amount space or huge air force bases in many of the flea pits they have to operate in and out of around the world.
So likely just a normal practice day for that chopper pilot you saw

 

[HeavensAbove]

I've called in a few Ospreys in my time.

Yep those Modern Warfare 3 killstreaks are a blast!