thedrifter
11-28-06, 07:53 AM
November 28, 2006
U.S. forces find wreckage of jet, but not pilot
Cannon confirms F-16 was from N.M. base
The Associated Press
BAGHDAD — U.S. forces investigating the crash of a single-seat Air Force jet in Iraq said Tuesday that insurgents reached the site before American forces could and the pilot remains missing.
Meanwhile, officials at Cannon Air Force Base, N.M., confirmed Cannon markings were apparent on news photos and television images that showed sections of the aircraft.
The 524th Fighter Squadron, part of the 27th Fighter Wing from Cannon, has been operating from Balad Air Base in Iraq since being deployed in September.
The jet crashed about 20 miles northwest of Baghdad at about 1:35 p.m. Monday while supporting extensive ground combat by coalition forces in Anbar province, the Air Combat Command said in a statement.
Fighter jets flying overhead when the crash occurred “confirmed that insurgents were in the vicinity of the crash site immediately following the crash,” the command said. “The pilot was not found at the crash site and his status cannot be confirmed at this time.”
DNA samples were taken from the scene and were being tested, the command said.
Capt. Nathan Broshear, an Air Force spokesman, told The Associated Press the cause of the crash is being investigated.
Maj. Gen. William Caldwell, a U.S. military’s spokesman, said Monday that he doubted the jet was shot down because F-16s fly very fast and have not encountered weapons in Iraq that are capable of taking them down.
Videotape pictures obtained by Associated Press Television News appear to show the wreckage of the F-16CG jet in the farm field where it crashed Monday and the remains of a U.S. serviceman with a tangled parachute nearby.
Al-Jazeera satellite television showed similar pictures on Monday but declined to include the scenes of the dead pilot, saying they were too graphic to air.
Ellie
U.S. forces find wreckage of jet, but not pilot
Cannon confirms F-16 was from N.M. base
The Associated Press
BAGHDAD — U.S. forces investigating the crash of a single-seat Air Force jet in Iraq said Tuesday that insurgents reached the site before American forces could and the pilot remains missing.
Meanwhile, officials at Cannon Air Force Base, N.M., confirmed Cannon markings were apparent on news photos and television images that showed sections of the aircraft.
The 524th Fighter Squadron, part of the 27th Fighter Wing from Cannon, has been operating from Balad Air Base in Iraq since being deployed in September.
The jet crashed about 20 miles northwest of Baghdad at about 1:35 p.m. Monday while supporting extensive ground combat by coalition forces in Anbar province, the Air Combat Command said in a statement.
Fighter jets flying overhead when the crash occurred “confirmed that insurgents were in the vicinity of the crash site immediately following the crash,” the command said. “The pilot was not found at the crash site and his status cannot be confirmed at this time.”
DNA samples were taken from the scene and were being tested, the command said.
Capt. Nathan Broshear, an Air Force spokesman, told The Associated Press the cause of the crash is being investigated.
Maj. Gen. William Caldwell, a U.S. military’s spokesman, said Monday that he doubted the jet was shot down because F-16s fly very fast and have not encountered weapons in Iraq that are capable of taking them down.
Videotape pictures obtained by Associated Press Television News appear to show the wreckage of the F-16CG jet in the farm field where it crashed Monday and the remains of a U.S. serviceman with a tangled parachute nearby.
Al-Jazeera satellite television showed similar pictures on Monday but declined to include the scenes of the dead pilot, saying they were too graphic to air.
Ellie