U-2 Down (merged)

[Vox Populi]

The subject heading is all I know - just read out on radio, no other info.

vp

[Circuit Basher]

Breaking News (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4119344.stm) on the BBC Web site (1154Z).

US spy plane crashes in SW Asia

A US Air Force U-2 spy plane has crashed in south-west Asia, the US military has said.

The crash occurred at 2330 GMT on Tuesday, according to a short written statement from US Central Command.

It gave no further details of the plane's mission and said the cause of the crash and the condition of the pilot were currently unknown.

The U-2 is a high-altitude surveillance aircraft first developed in the Cold War and manned by a single pilot.

[Edited to apologise to SSS for posting the same thing 1 min later - you must be using 2 fingers to type!!]

[Razor61]

How do you know it's Iraq?

Here (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4119344.stm)

It says "Location undisclosed due to Host Nation sensitivity."

Doesn't mention Iraq.

[Fox3snapshot]

A very broad area "South West Asia" could cover as their ops from their main base covers both theatres...and some to the south too I might add! We have had a few with emergencies force land nearby, thankfully safely.

Speaking to them on the odd occassions and I really hope he/she is ok....yup she, asked her how the view was a while back and she said "dark!".:p

Lets hope for the best.....:sad:

[vecvechookattack]

The radio news report stated it was Iraq.

[rivetjoint]

Sad news about the pilot :(

Do you really think they'd base an aircraft with a 12+ hour endurance in a country as dangerous as Iraq?!

[SpinSpinSugar]

Unfortunately it seems the pilot did not survive :(


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.

A military spokesman said the location of the crash would not be released because of "host nation sensitivity".

The U-2 is a high-altitude surveillance aircraft first developed in the Cold War and manned by a single pilot.

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, a Central Command spokesman, said.

Correspondents say south-west Asia is a phrase often used by the US military to refer to the Middle East.

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.

The name of the pilot will not be released until next of kin are informed, but a statement by the military said he was flying a mission in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, the name given to US operations in Afghanistan.

"The airmen of the 380th Expeditionary Wing mourn the loss of a true American hero in the service of his country," Col Darryl Burke, the wing's commander, said in a statement.

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.

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.

[JessTheDog]

Sad news about the pilot. I wonder if he was hunting for O-B-L.

[vecvechookattack]

Very sad.

In all honesty, does it actually matter where it crashed?

Prayers to the family of this fellow aviator.

[Fox3snapshot]

We are enjoying??? brownout conditions in the region with the "Shamal" winds (from the desert) and high humidity in the coastal regions which compounds in-flight viz problems and general aircraft handling issues. The recoveries are obviously through night and day and even day arrivals are hazerdous with poor viz, high winds, high temps and high humidity...this in an areroplane that has a 5kt crosswind limit give or take.

Rivetjoint Sorry, did you interpret from comments made that it was Iraq based?? Your assessment is correct, they are about 3.5 hours flying time to the main theatres and 5 to the southern theatres.

[Gainesy]

US press is saying that it crashed in UAE, pilot killed, sadly.

[Fox3snapshot]

Unfortunately, from all aspects of your post, that sounds accurate.....:ugh:

[ORAC]

It will have been operating out of Al Dhafra then.

[Fox3snapshot]

Long time, how goes it?......but base names??? :cool:

[Ian Corrigible]

Fox3 -

In ORAC's defense, the location of the 380th AEW for the past 4 years is fairly well known.

I/C

[Fox3snapshot]

To the ice cream lickers, or to those that go out of their road to find out???? Trust me in this part of the world, even for those in operations civil and military it is not common knowledge of the exact location of all the coalition assets ....but I guess you would know that as well :hmm:

[Ian Corrigible]

All I know is what Centcom tells me !!

:hmm:

[Fox3snapshot]

Cool, so it is for public distribution....

Great!!! my understanding of the U.S. PR and Security system is accurate......:suspect:

Good one.....:hmm:

[GLOC]

Thank God the Cold War is over....all this good gen would have cost lives.....come to think of it down at the local 308th AEW shopping center it still could! Well done lads....

:ouch:

[BEagle]

RIP to the Dragonlady mate.........

And will you lot STFU about operational locations. N2K still applies, despite the Internet.

[egbt]

18:00 BBC news says mission was over Afghanistan but crash elsewhere :(

[Zoner]

http://www.latimes.com/la-062205plane_lat,0,1824118.story?coll=la-home-headlines

U.S Spy Plane Pilot Dies in Asia Crash
By Daryl Strickland, Times Staff Writer
The pilot of a U.S. spy plane died in a crash while returning the aircraft to its base in the United Arab Emirates, the U.S. military announced today.

The plane, a U-2 model designed during the Cold War and still the stalwart of the nation's airborne intelligence, went down late Tuesday in an undisclosed location in southwest Asia, U.S. Central Command said.
The aircraft was returning from an assignment for Operation Enduring Freedom, the military name for the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan, when the plane crashed. The cause remains under investigation, the military said.

The military was unwilling to disclose the crash site, it said, "to ensure the safety of local citizens and the integrity of the site for the investigation."

The pilot, whose name has been withheld until the military can notify family members, was described as "a true American hero in the service of his country," according to Col. Darryl Burke, 380th Expeditionary Wing commander.

Since early 2002, the pilot had been based at the Dhafra air base, near Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, the Associated Press reported.

The U-2s provide frequent intelligence reports for the U.S. military on Afghanistan. But the U.S. Air Force has reported at least 22 major mishaps from 1963 through 1996, according to a report by www.globalsecurity.org.

The latest versions of the spy planes, built in the 1980s in Burbank and updated in recent years, have been fitted with the world's most advanced sensors, radar that can take images in which an apple can be distinguished from an orange.

The U-2 is a single-seat plane with wide wings like a glider that can climb past 70,000 feet altitude, making it the world's highest-flying aircraft.

But the ability to soar so high makes it hard to handle in the air — and on the ground. Pilots wear a full pressure suit, similar to those that astronauts use to help keep nitrogen from building up in their tissues. That can cause a condition known as the bends, which can lead to paralysis or death.

While difficult to take off, the aircraft remains even harder to land. Once close to the runway, the engines must be stalled for a landing to occur. The U.S. Air Force has described the aircraft as the hardest in their arsenal to touch down.

The plane made its maiden flight in the mid-1950s, when the U.S. military used its advances to track the Russian military, its technology and weaponry.

In 1960, U.S. pilot Gary Powers was brought down while taking pictures of ballistic missile test sites in the Soviet Union. While flying at 67,000, he avoided a series of surface to air missiles, but the shockwaves caused the aircraft to disintegrate. Powers safely ejected from the plane, according to the website.

The U.S. military said the aircraft was conducting weather research, but the ruse was spoiled when Soviet Premier Nikita Kruschev said Powers had been detained. He was held on espionage charges for nearly two years.
________________________________________
Times staff writer Peter Pae contributed to this report.

[Darth Nigel]

Since early 2002, the pilot had been based at the Dhafra air base, near Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, the Associated Press reported.

LA Times online, 1 hour ago, according to Google News.

[PANDAMATENGA]

I am intrigued to read that the U2 can operate at 90000(ninety) Feet. Assuming this is correct, can anyone explain how even a (presumably) Turbojet can function in this rarefied atmosphere. Also, are there no"Coffin Corner" implications.

Thanks

[rivetjoint]

Officially its "above 70,000ft" ;)

The Dragon Lady just naturally flys high, a combination of the wings and fine tuned engine......as the fuel burns off she just keeps climbing and climbing. The air is so thin up high though that the throttle is at mil power from take off until its time to come home. And yes she burns more fuel taxying on the ground than cruising up where Pinion belongs.

[kansasw]

"The U.S. military said the aircraft was conducting weather research, ..."

Yes, people employed by my government were happy to lie to us then and are happy to lie to us now. I do not believe this is particularly different from behavior over the years/centuries/millenia by people in power in any location, and I do not know the solution.

[D-IFF_ident]

I don't care where he took off from, or how high it can fly.

The death of a fellow aviator is tragic.

RIP fella; sincere condolences to family and friends.

[Jordan D]

Let's not speculate ... where 380 is based (near Abu Dhabi) is well known and reported on the BBC News article (most recent update) ... as for anything more - if and when it comes, it'll come.

RIP and condolences to the family.

Jordan

[propulike]

He or she - RIP whoever you are.

[ComJam]

My condolenses to the family of the pilot involved, another sad loss.

Kansasw, i think you miss the point.......

[ginjockey]

Why are they still operating these things anyway? I thought the Global Hawk was so much better, higher, safer, smarter etc etc

And it seems that the previous flap about secret locations and host nation sensitivity is a bit unrequired. Their base locations, missions, equipment, aircraft details and what they serve in the staff canteen are all published on their own sqaudron website, listed below. It also has a handy hyperlink to an airforce "singles" club on it in case you guys get lonely out there.

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/agency/usaf/380aew.htm

cheers

gin

[Spotting Bad Guys]

Not to be picky, but that's a link to Global Security rather than the squadron's own website. Very different!

RIP fella

SBG

[FJJP]

The pilot, whose name has been withheld until the military can notify family members, was described as "a true American hero in the service of his country," according to Col. Darryl Burke, 380th Expeditionary Wing commander.
He died serving his country - RIP; condolences to the family he leaves behind.

FJJP

[The Swinging Monkey]

Sincere condolences to the family and friends of the pilot. I know quite a few U2 and TR1 boys and girls from my days working with them at Alconbury (gosh that seems such a long time ago now)
My prayers are for you all at this sad time.

Farewell Dear Dragon Lady warrior. Your loss will not be in vain, and I thank and salute you for your efforts to make our world a safer and better place.

The Swinging Monkey

[Fox3snapshot]

We have had two of those crash here as well.....:ugh:

[rivetjoint]

U-2 will be here for a while yet, there's a lot the Global Hawk can't carry yet.
RIP.

[ORAC]

New York Times:

WASHINGTON, June 22 - The Air Force pilot of a U-2 spy plane was killed early Wednesday when his aircraft crashed near its base in the United Arab Emirates, shortly after completing a routine surveillance mission over Afghanistan, military officials said..... Col. Darryl Burke, commander of the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing, ordered an investigation. Military officials said there were no initial indications of hostile fire. The Pentagon withheld the pilot's name pending notification of his family......

An Air Force spokesman in Qatar, Capt. David W. Small, said it was unclear whether in Wednesday's predawn crash, the pilot had tried to eject. The body has been recovered from the crash site, near Al Dhafra air base, and is being returned to the United States, service officials said.

[Ali Barber]

Add my condolences too.

From the BBC web site: the headline reads " Deadly US spy plane crash in UAE". Hope they recovered all the bombs! Press - who needs them?

[Arkroyal]

Bombs?

What bombs:confused:

[Regie Mental]

Got to know a couple of Dragonlady a couple of years ago. I found their laid back attitude somewhat at odds with the sensitivity of their operations (but very refreshing). Very sad that another pilot has been killed and my condolences go out to the pilot's family and colleagues in the tightly-knit U-2 community.