MedicCook
11-28-2006, 11:02 AM
Pilot of crashed U.S. fighter jet missing in Iraq
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- The U.S. military said Tuesday it has not found the pilot of an Air Force fighter jet a day after it crashed in Iraq.
The pilot, who officials have not named, has been classified as "duty status and whereabouts unknown," said Maj. Gen. William Caldwell, who spoke at a Tuesday news conference. Coalition aircraft reported that insurgents were in the vicinity of the crash site at the time the jet went down.
U.S. Central Command Air Forces said the recovery of the pilot is among its "primary concerns," according to a news release distributed Tuesday. (Watch charred and smoking wreckage that is purported to be of the crashed jet )
"The pilot was not found at the crash site, and his status cannot be confirmed at this time," the Air Force statement said. "The investigation board has collected DNA samples from the crash site and will release results upon completion of testing."
The Air Force F-16CG fighter jet crashed Monday outside of Baghdad while flying on a low-level "strafing run" -- firing on targets on the ground at a low altitude -- a U.S. military official in Baghdad said.
"Coalition reconnaissance assets and fighter aircraft were overhead when the crash occurred and confirmed that insurgents were in the vicinity of the crash site immediately following the crash," the statement said. "Ground forces secured the crash scene Monday, as soon as the combat operations in the area ceased."
The aircraft was carrying one pilot when it went down at 1:35 p.m. (5:35 a.m. ET) about 20 miles northwest of the Iraqi capital, according to a U.S. military statement. Immediately following the crash, the military did not say if the pilot survived.
The cause of the crash is under investigation.
A Pentagon source said the plane was operating near Falluja, which is about 30 miles west of Baghdad.
Al-Jazeera, the Middle East-based television news network, has aired video showing what it said was the smoldering wreckage of the F-16. The video shows pieces of the aircraft including the tail which displays the aircraft's number and an "Air Combat Command" logo.
It said the video was shot in Karma, which is about nine miles (15 kilometers) northeast of Falluja.
Mohammed Al-Obeidi, an Iraqi who lives in the nearby town of Karmah, told The Associated Press he saw the jet flying up and down erratically before it nose-dived and exploded in a farm field.
He said other U.S. warplanes rushed to the crash site and were circling around it.
The F-16 was deployed to the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing at Balad Air Base, Iraq.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/11/28/iraq.plane.crash/index.html
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- The U.S. military said Tuesday it has not found the pilot of an Air Force fighter jet a day after it crashed in Iraq.
The pilot, who officials have not named, has been classified as "duty status and whereabouts unknown," said Maj. Gen. William Caldwell, who spoke at a Tuesday news conference. Coalition aircraft reported that insurgents were in the vicinity of the crash site at the time the jet went down.
U.S. Central Command Air Forces said the recovery of the pilot is among its "primary concerns," according to a news release distributed Tuesday. (Watch charred and smoking wreckage that is purported to be of the crashed jet )
"The pilot was not found at the crash site, and his status cannot be confirmed at this time," the Air Force statement said. "The investigation board has collected DNA samples from the crash site and will release results upon completion of testing."
The Air Force F-16CG fighter jet crashed Monday outside of Baghdad while flying on a low-level "strafing run" -- firing on targets on the ground at a low altitude -- a U.S. military official in Baghdad said.
"Coalition reconnaissance assets and fighter aircraft were overhead when the crash occurred and confirmed that insurgents were in the vicinity of the crash site immediately following the crash," the statement said. "Ground forces secured the crash scene Monday, as soon as the combat operations in the area ceased."
The aircraft was carrying one pilot when it went down at 1:35 p.m. (5:35 a.m. ET) about 20 miles northwest of the Iraqi capital, according to a U.S. military statement. Immediately following the crash, the military did not say if the pilot survived.
The cause of the crash is under investigation.
A Pentagon source said the plane was operating near Falluja, which is about 30 miles west of Baghdad.
Al-Jazeera, the Middle East-based television news network, has aired video showing what it said was the smoldering wreckage of the F-16. The video shows pieces of the aircraft including the tail which displays the aircraft's number and an "Air Combat Command" logo.
It said the video was shot in Karma, which is about nine miles (15 kilometers) northeast of Falluja.
Mohammed Al-Obeidi, an Iraqi who lives in the nearby town of Karmah, told The Associated Press he saw the jet flying up and down erratically before it nose-dived and exploded in a farm field.
He said other U.S. warplanes rushed to the crash site and were circling around it.
The F-16 was deployed to the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing at Balad Air Base, Iraq.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/11/28/iraq.plane.crash/index.html