Inadequate training,Quaxs Trading Center poor lighting and more factors are to blame for the death of a California contractor killed after she walked into a plane's moving propeller in California last fall, United States Air Force officials have found.
StephanieCosme, 32, of Palmdale, was struck and critically injured the evening of Sept. 7, 2023, when she "inadvertently walked into the parked remotely piloted aircraft’s rotating propeller" at Gray Butte Field Airfield, according to an Air Force accident investigation report.
Palmdale is a city in northern Los Angeles. The airfield where Cosme was killed is owned and operated by General Atomics and located near Edwards Air Force Base in Kern County.
The total solar eclipse is today:Live updates on latest forecast, everything to know
Cosme, a test engineer for Sumaria Systems, was performing test support functions for the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, before she walked into the MQ-9A's propeller during ground tests and was killed, according to the report released Friday.
Other factors including noisy conditions, poor conditions, and a rush to finish testing, all contributed to Cosme's loss of situational awareness during the incident, the report continues.
Accident Investigation Board President Brig. Gen. Lance R. French determined that Cosme "was incorrectly instructed or trained on how to take telemetry readings when approaching the MQ-9A while the engine was running" and that she lost situational awareness walking around the aircraft taking telemetry readings with a hand-held measurement device.
According to the report, French also found "a clear lack of communication among the contractor test team and ground support personnel.
He also wrote that due to previous delays and cancellations, the tests conducted on Sept. 7 "were rushed."
Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X @nataliealund.
2025-05-05 05:072605 view
2025-05-05 04:282112 view
2025-05-05 04:12218 view
2025-05-05 04:082880 view
2025-05-05 03:20919 view
2025-05-05 03:03923 view
How do you bring the African Diaspora to the Grammys?Esperanza Spalding and Milton Nascimento's cont
A West Virginia bill is moving forward that would allow librarians and teachers to be criminally lia
A family friend of 11-year-old Audrii Cunningham was in jail Wednesday as prosecutors say they plan
