An electrical malfunction caused a drone to crash near Bloodsworth Island in Southern Dorchester County on June 11th of 2012.
The revelation came in more than 1-thousand pages of documents obtained by the Salisbury Daily Times under the Freedom of Information Act.
Navy investigators showed it was a mechanical malfunction not the fault of the crew which resulted in the crash 15 minutes from Patuxent River Naval Air Station after takeoff across the Chesapeake Bay.
They found that the crew steered the troubled aircraft to one of the remotest areas of the county before it hit the ground avoiding any injuries.
But the paper reports that the civilian flight commander whose name was redacted was faulted for failing to adhere to emergency protocols.
Captain Christopher Ramsden, a high ranking reviewer, recommended the Navy review the pilots contract and take appropriate action.
The Air Force has suspended the program as it makes adjustments to prevent future incidents.
