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The Pentagon says a US Air Force B-1 bomber has gone down in the Indian
Ocean. The US plane went down about 50 kilometers north of Diego Garcia
- a British base being used by the US military in the war in
Afghanistan.
.
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Crashed US bomber crew rescued
BBC News Online: World: Americas
Wednesday, 12 December, 2001, 20:23 GMT
The four crew of a US B-1 bomber which crashed in the Indian Ocean 100 km
(60 miles) north of the British base of Diego Garcia have been rescued.
The bomber crashed at 1630 GMT in what is thought to be the first accident
involving a manned fixed-wing aircraft in the war in Afghanistan, although
helicopters have crashed before.
There was no evidence the aircraft crashed as a result of hostile action,
officials said.
"This underscores what we try to remember all the time - that the men and
women in the US military put their lives at risk every single day," said
Pentagon spokeswoman Victoria Clarke.
The four crew members were in "good condition" after being taken aboard the
American naval destroyer USS Russell, another Pentagon official said.
Navy Lieutenant Commander Jeff Davis said the bomber had been on an
outbound mission when it crashed.
They were first spotted by an Air Force KC-10 refuelling plane which
established voice contact after noticing a strobe light blinking at the
site.
The official did not know if the plane had been carrying bombs.
Marine General Peter Pace, vice-chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, said
B-1s had been taking part in the same missions in Afghanistan as B-52 and
B-2 bombers.
"All these airframes are doing the same type of mission. They are providing
support to our teams that are with the opposition force that are on the
ground," he said.
Bombers have been flying missions from Diego Garcia in the air strikes that
began on 7 October.
There are 51 B-1 bombers in active military service; each plane costs more
than $200m to build.
They are described as long-range, heavy bombers, built for low-level,
high-speed missions.
The crew of four comprises a commander and co-pilot, and offensive and
defensive systems officers.
The aircraft has terrain-following radar and GPS satellite navigation. The
two specialists have at hand a range of electronic equipment to protect the
aircraft and attack ground targets.
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