← Autodidact Archive · Original Dissent · Blond Knight
Thread ID: 18762 | Posts: 5 | Started: 2005-06-22
2005-06-22 13:23 | User Profile
My condolences to the family of the pilot. One can only imagine the activity behind the scenes as the rats who run the propaganda machine in Jerusalem-on-the-Potomac get the spin machine in high gear.
[url]http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4119344.stm[/url]
BBC NEWS US spy plane crashes in SW Asia A US Air Force U-2 spy plane has crashed in south-west Asia killing the pilot, the US military has said.
The crash occurred at 2330 GMT on Tuesday, when the pilot was returning to base after completing a mission. Its cause is not known.
[B]A military spokesman said the location of the crash would not be released because of "host nation sensitivity".[/B]
The U-2 is a high-altitude surveillance aircraft first developed in the Cold War and manned by a single pilot.
Regional sensitivities
Central Command gave no details of the plane's mission, but said a full investigation would be convened to established the causes of the crash.
The specific location is not releasable due to host nation sensitivities
US Air Force Capt David W Small
"The specific location is not releasable due to host nation sensitivities," US Air Force Capt David W Small, a Central Command spokesman, said.
The site of the crash has been secured to ensure the safety of local citizens and the integrity of the site for the investigation team, the statement said.
AP news agency says south-west Asia is a phrase often used by the US military to refer to the Middle East.
The long, thin plane, with a wing-span of 100 feet (30.5m) is able to cruise at 90,000ft (27,430m) - more than 17 miles (27km) up - so high that the pilot has to wear a spacesuit.
Cold War stalwart
A U-2 plane crashed near the South Korean capital Seoul in 2003.
In that incident the pilot managed to eject safely and suffered only minor injuries.
However, three people on the ground were wounded when the plane exploded as it hit a residential area in Hwasong City in Kyonggi province damaging a house and car repair shop.
The U-2 was an invaluable US surveillance tool during the Cold War, able to photograph Soviet military facilities and operating in great secrecy out of Adana in Turkey - later renamed the Incirlik airbase.
In 1960 a U-2 was shot down by a volley of Soviet surface-to-air missiles. The pilot, Gary Powers, ejected but was captured and held for two years on spying charges.
It was also a U-2 that took the photographs of Soviet missiles being put into Cuba in October 1962. Story from BBC NEWS: [url]http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/south_asia/4119344.stm[/url]
Published: 2005/06/22 13:13:14 GMT
é BBC MMV
2005-06-22 19:08 | User Profile
I wonder if you could stuff Iran or Syria into the definition of 'south west Asia'? I bet you could.
2005-06-22 19:12 | User Profile
Is that the same spy plane that spied on all those WMD's and mobile chemical labs in Iraq? If so, it sure has a history of malfunction.
2005-06-23 00:18 | User Profile
A quick look at the map shows that Iran, particularly the chokepoint known as the Strait of Hormuz lies directly between the United Arab Emarates and Afghanistan. We were not looking for some sunburn missile launchers were we?
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ [url]http://story.news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050622/ts_nm/arms_u2_crash_dc;_ylt=A86.I1ZkjblCJ18AmxpZ.3QA;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl[/url]
US spyplane crashes after Afghan mission
Wed Jun 22, 4:31 PM ET
The pilot of a U.S. Air Force U-2 spy plane was killed on Wednesday when the plane crashed after a reconnaissance mission over Afghanistan, the U.S. military said.
"The aircraft had completed its mission and was returning to base when the crash occurred," Air Force Capt. David Small, a spokesman for the U.S. Central Command Air Forces, or CENTAF, said by telephone from the Gulf region.
Small refused to say where the U-2, which was based with the 380th U.S. Air Expeditionary Wing in the United Arab Emirates, had crashed but added that the incident was under investigation. The jet went down at 7:30 p.m. EST Tuesday, which was Wednesday in the Asia region.
Small said U-2s had been flying daily over Iraq and Afghanistan in support of U.S. and allied forces fighting in the two countries.
The United Arab Emirates news agency WAM said the aircraft crashed while trying to land at one of its military bases, and that the UAE was helping in the investigation being conducted by the U.S. military.
The agency said the U.S. had an agreement with the UAE that allowed it to use some of its military facilities.
The single-seat, high-altitude reconnaissance and surveillance plane, a veteran of the Cold War with the former Soviet Union, is unarmed but flies at altitudes that make it impervious to many ground-fired weapons.
CENTAF is the air arm of the U.S. Central Command, which is responsible for U.S. military operations in the Gulf, Middle East and parts of Asia.
2005-06-23 17:47 | User Profile
Well that stinks. I guess the UAE's sensitivities were appeased at some point for this press release to make it to the air.
Condolences to the family, and a prayer for his soul.
[QUOTE=Blond Knight]A quick look at the map shows that Iran, particularly the chokepoint known as the Strait of Hormuz lies directly between the United Arab Emarates and Afghanistan. We were not looking for some sunburn missile launchers were we?
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ [url="http://story.news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050622/ts_nm/arms_u2_crash_dc;_ylt=A86.I1ZkjblCJ18AmxpZ.3QA;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl"]http://story.news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050622/ts_nm/arms_u2_crash_dc;_ylt=A86.I1ZkjblCJ18AmxpZ.3QA;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl[/url]
US spyplane crashes after Afghan mission
Wed Jun 22, 4:31 PM ET
The pilot of a U.S. Air Force U-2 spy plane was killed on Wednesday when the plane crashed after a reconnaissance mission over Afghanistan, the U.S. military said.
"The aircraft had completed its mission and was returning to base when the crash occurred," Air Force Capt. David Small, a spokesman for the U.S. Central Command Air Forces, or CENTAF, said by telephone from the Gulf region.
Small refused to say where the U-2, which was based with the 380th U.S. Air Expeditionary Wing in the United Arab Emirates, had crashed but added that the incident was under investigation. The jet went down at 7:30 p.m. EST Tuesday, which was Wednesday in the Asia region.
Small said U-2s had been flying daily over Iraq and Afghanistan in support of U.S. and allied forces fighting in the two countries.
The United Arab Emirates news agency WAM said the aircraft crashed while trying to land at one of its military bases, and that the UAE was helping in the investigation being conducted by the U.S. military.
The agency said the U.S. had an agreement with the UAE that allowed it to use some of its military facilities.
The single-seat, high-altitude reconnaissance and surveillance plane, a veteran of the Cold War with the former Soviet Union, is unarmed but flies at altitudes that make it impervious to many ground-fired weapons.
CENTAF is the air arm of the U.S. Central Command, which is responsible for U.S. military operations in the Gulf, Middle East and parts of Asia.[/QUOTE]