Statement on YFQ-42A Flight Incident
SAN DIEGO – 06 April 2026 – A YFQ-42A Collaborative Combat Aircraft test platform experienced a mishap following takeoff from a company-owned airport in the California desert on Monday at approximately 1 p.m. Pacific.
No one was injured in the incident. Flight test operations have been paused temporarily in an abundance of caution.
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) is assessing the condition of the aircraft and investigating to establish the root cause of the incident. At this early stage, it would be premature to speculate on the circumstances. As with any program, we follow a disciplined investigation process to understand exactly what occurred, and our focus right now is on gathering data and ensuring we learn from this event.
The aircraft is one of several production-representative YFQ-42A CCAs currently in the technical maturation and risk reduction phase of the program for the U.S. Air Force. The jets fly regularly at company-owned facilities as part of their operational test and evaluation program. These flight operations will resume when deemed appropriate.
“Safety is our top priority, for our people and the public. In this case, established procedures and safeguards worked as intended, and there were no injuries,” said C. Mark Brinkley, a company spokesman. “We’re going to take a close look at what happened, gather all the data, and allow the investigation to guide us moving forward.”
About GA-ASI
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc., is the world’s foremost builder of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS). Logging more than 9 million flight hours, the Predator® line of UAS has flown for over 30 years and includes MQ-9A Reaper®, MQ-1C Gray Eagle®, MQ-20 Avenger®, and MQ-9B SkyGuardian®/SeaGuardian®. The company is dedicated to providing long-endurance, multi-mission solutions that deliver persistent situational awareness and rapid strike.
For more information, visit www.ga-asi.com 
Avenger, EagleEye, Gray Eagle, Lynx, Predator, Reaper, SeaGuardian, and SkyGuardian are trademarks of General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc., registered in the United States and/or other countries.