According to a survey by the Washington Post, 418 U.S. military drones tumbled from the sky since 2001.

Predator drones cost $ 3.8 million.

Accidents are due either to weather conditions, or significantly more often to remote piloting errors.

Next year, private companies will be allowed to deploy drones in the United States. The aviation industry hopes to manufacture $ 82 billion worth of drones by 2025, generating more than 100,000 jobs.

So far the use of drones has raised privacy concerns. The Post also points to safety issues.

• «When drones fall from the sky», by Craig Whitlock, The Washington Post, 20 June 2014.
• Autonomy Research for Civil Aviation: Toward a New Era of Flight, Committee on Autonomy Research for Civil Aviation; Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board; Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences; National Research Council, 92 p., 5 June 2014.