National Transportation Safety Board officials said that an unmanned drone similar to the one in the photo crash landed in the backyard of a home in the Lower Valley Tuesday. (Courtesy Aeronautics Defense Systems)
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating Tuesday's crash of a Mexican drone in El Paso's Lower Valley.

"We are collecting data about the crash. We don't have the aircraft because it was returned to its owner," said Keith Holloway, spokesman for the NTSB, which investigates aircraft crashes in the United States and in other countries that requests its help.

Holloway said the aircraft that crossed into the U.S. air space is a mini orbiter unmanned aerial vehicle developed by the Aeronautics Defense System.

It is designed for use in military and homeland security missions, and is capable of conducting over-the-hill reconnaissance missions, low-intensity conflict and urban warfare operations, and any other related close range mission.

El Paso Detective Mike Baranyay said "I was told that it crashed in somebody's back yard, and that no one was injured. I was paged at 6:28 p.m. on Tuesday, so it happened shortly before that. We were told it was not a police matter."

The crash occurred after sunset in the yard of a house on Craddock Road, which