Syr tower controller reported a runway incursion due to the mq-9 uav taxiing too slow and an arrival...

Narrative:

I was working the positions of local and ground combined. In the tower was another controller working flight data clearance delivery and he was the tower controller in charge as well. There was a significant amount of flow programs being utilized which caused extra workload for the flight data position and for myself on the ground control frequency. On tower frequency was 5 aircraft in the pattern with one of the aircraft being a drone remote piloted aircraft. This is not a normal operation at syracuse tower. The average amount of traffic in the pattern is 1 aircraft. Not only was there 5 aircraft in the pattern; but there were multiple air carrier arrivals into syracuse as well as another drone. In my opinion; for traffic that was on both the ground and local frequencies there needed to be an extra controller in the tower. Unfortunately; due to our staffing this was not an option. The actual event that took place involved aircraft X who was in the VFR traffic pattern. Aircraft X was instructed to follow the drone with its chase aircraft. Aircraft X reported both aircraft in sight and was cleared for the option. Aircraft Y was observed landing while aircraft X was on a 2 mile final. As aircraft X touched down the drone was turning off of the runway. The drone drones have to taxi at a specific speed when they are on the taxiways and the runways. Their taxiing speed is significantly slower than any fixed wing aircraft. In my opinion; this was the leading contributor to the runway incursion.I recommend that if there are more than 2 aircraft in the pattern and a drone; there needs to be a standalone controller in charge or decombine local and ground frequencies. An increase in staffing would have allowed for an extra 'pair of eyes' for the operation. A standard strip marking procedure for pattern traffic would be helpful to provide a visual aid for increased controller workload. The drone should be taxiing at a much faster pace on the runways and they can slow their taxi speed on the taxiways. A procedure should be in place to address the runway compression that occurs whenever a drone lands i.e. Approach separates an arrival further from the drone to make up for the times it takes to get the drone off of the runway

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: SYR Tower Controller reported a runway incursion due to the MQ-9 UAV taxiing too slow and an arrival landing on the runway while the drone was still exiting.

Narrative: I was working the positions of Local and Ground combined. In the tower was another controller working Flight Data Clearance Delivery and he was the Tower CIC as well. There was a significant amount of flow programs being utilized which caused extra workload for the Flight Data position and for myself on the Ground control frequency. On tower frequency was 5 aircraft in the pattern with one of the aircraft being a drone remote piloted aircraft. This is not a normal operation at Syracuse Tower. The average amount of traffic in the pattern is 1 aircraft. Not only was there 5 aircraft in the pattern; but there were multiple air carrier arrivals into Syracuse as well as another drone. In my opinion; for traffic that was on both the Ground and Local frequencies there needed to be an extra controller in the tower. Unfortunately; due to our staffing this was not an option. The actual event that took place involved Aircraft X who was in the VFR traffic Pattern. Aircraft X was instructed to follow the drone with its chase Aircraft. Aircraft X reported both aircraft in sight and was cleared for the option. Aircraft Y was observed landing while Aircraft X was on a 2 mile final. As Aircraft X touched down the drone was turning off of the runway. The drone drones have to taxi at a specific speed when they are on the taxiways and the runways. Their taxiing speed is significantly slower than any fixed wing aircraft. In my opinion; this was the leading contributor to the runway incursion.I recommend that if there are more than 2 aircraft in the pattern and a drone; there needs to be a standalone CIC or decombine Local and Ground frequencies. An increase in staffing would have allowed for an extra 'pair of eyes' for the operation. A standard strip marking procedure for pattern traffic would be helpful to provide a visual aid for increased controller workload. The drone should be taxiing at a much faster pace on the runways and they can slow their taxi speed on the taxiways. A procedure should be in place to address the runway compression that occurs whenever a drone lands i.e. approach separates an arrival further from the drone to make up for the times it takes to get the drone off of the runway

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.

Attributes
ACN	1474497
Time
Date	201708
Local Time Of Day	1201-1800
Place
Locale Reference	SYR.Tower
State Reference	NY
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Small Aircraft Low Wing 1 Eng Fixed Gear
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	Landing
Route In Use	None
Flight Plan	VFR
Aircraft 2
Make Model Name	UAV - Unpiloted Aerial Vehicle
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	Taxi
Route In Use	None
Flight Plan	VFR
Person 1
Function	Ground Local
Qualification	Air Traffic Control Developmental
Events
Anomaly	ATC Issue All Types Conflict Ground Conflict Less Severe Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy Ground Incursion Runway

Syr tower controller reported a runway incursion due to the mq-9 uav taxiing too slow and an arrival landing on the runway while the drone was still exiting.