Drones - Reaper in controlled airspace - USA - Curt Lewis

Reaper military drone makes history in Syracuse

Syracuse, N.Y. - An Air National Guard MQ-9 Reaper took off from Syracuse Hancock International Airport Wednesday, becoming the first unmanned aircraft in the nation to launch from a commercial airport.

The remotely piloted Reaper from the guard's 174th Attack Wing took off from the airport's main runway at about 1:40 p.m. It circled around and performed several "touch-and-go" landings on the runway before returning to Hancock Field, the Air Guard's base at the airport.

The flight marked the return of flight operations by the 174 Attack Wing. The unit flew F-16 fighter jets for many years but replaced them in 2010 with the Reaper. Pilots based at Hancock Field remotely operate Reapers on combat missions in the Middle East.

"It's a proud day," said Col. Greg Semmel, wing commander, after the Reaper finished its sorties. "Starting today, we'll have daily operations from here on." 

Until now, the guard unit has flown its Reapers on training missions out of Fort Drum in Watertown because of Federal Aviation Administration restrictions on unmanned aircraft in commercial air space. Crews at Fort Drum launch and land the planes, but operators back in Syracuse operate them during all other parts of their flights.

However, the FAA recently gave the unit permission to fly Reapers out of Syracuse as long as they are escorted by a manned "chase" plane whose pilot watches out for other aircraft and can warn the drones' operators if another plane gets too close.

Semmel said the Reapers will fly daily from Syracuse to northern New York, where they can use restricted military airspace without an escort. Sometimes the training includes dropping bombs at Fort Drum's gunnery range. However, on those occasions, the planes will stop at Fort Drum to be loaded with munitions. When they fly in or out of Hancock, they will not carry weapons, Semmel said.

Semmel said residents need not fear for their safety when one of the unmanned planes is flying over their homes. He said the Reaper has one-third the accident rate of general aviation aircraft and its operators will be in constant contact with civilian air traffic controllers.

"It's a very safe airplane," he said.