Bad news from F16.net
http://www.f-16.net/news_article1960.html
"August 31, 2006 (by Lieven Dewitte) - A Dutch pilot died on Thursday when his F-16 fighter jet crashed in southern Afghanistan. The plane crashed around 7 a.m. after making a distress call, but did not report "enemy action," a NATO statement said.
Dutch fully armed F-16AM's on a mission over Afghanistan.
"The plane was flying at a great height when the accident occurred, which means it can be ruled out that the craft was shot down. We therefore assume it was an accident," the ministry said in a statement.
The F-16 was early thursday morning returning from a planned mission to Helmand, a province south of Uruzgan where the Dutch are active.
The aircraft crashed in the province of Ghazni, north of where the Dutch are active. It came down from great height.
According Dutch Defence sources out of reach of known weapons installations.
A second Dutch F-16 accompanying the unfortunate F-16, circled in the neighbourhood until rescue and recovery forces arrived.
An American rescueteam recovered the remains of the pilot and his aircraft. The location of the crash site was withheld for security reasons.
The 29-year-old pilot was the third Dutch soldier to die in Afghanistan. Two Dutchman were among the dead in a helicopter crash in Paktia Province in July.
The Netherlands is a key contributor to a multinational force that took command of security operations in volatile southern Afghanistan from the coalition at the start of August, amid the deadliest upsurge in violence since the fall of the Taliban regime in late 2001.
Canadian Maj. Gen. Angus Watt, head of the NATO force's air operations, said the death of the pilot - who was not identified - was a tragic loss. "We will continue with the mission undeterred," he said."
My thoughts go out to the family and all involved.
RIP