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Four crew saved after American bomber crashes
By Rupert Cornwell
13 December 2001
All four crew from an American B-1 bomber that crashed in the
Indian Ocean were rescued yesterday.
The bomber crashed into the sea 30 miles north of the British
air base at Diego Garcia at 4.30pm British time and were
rescued within two hours by a helicopter from an American
destroyer.
Pentagon officials did not know the condition of the men, who
were reported to have spent two hours in the water.
The supersonic bomber was on its way back to the island
when the crash happened, and a nearby flying tanker was sent
to see if it could locate the crew. It spotted their distress
beacons and spoke to one of the men, and within an hour a
helicopter from the USS Russell had picked up all four men
and taken them to the ship.
The plane's loss is the first of a fixed-wing aircraft in the
conflict. A helicopter has been lost and another badly
damaged.
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.
"What we most hope for right now is good news on the
condition of the crew. If we lost the airframe, that would be
unfortunate, but if we lost the crew that would be totally
different," he said.
"All these airframes are doing the same type of mission. They
are providing support to our teams that are with the opposition
forces that are on the ground."
The �140m swing-wing B-1 bomber can fly supersonically, and
has a crew consisting of a pilot and co-pilot, a bomber and an
"offensive systems officer", the modern equivalent of a
tail-gunner.
The American Air Force's official description of it says: "The
B-1B's speed, superior handling characteristics, and large
payload make it a key element of any joint/composite strike
force."
It has some stealth technology, including electronic jamming
equipment and a body shape designed to minimise its size on
a radar screen. It is designed to launch precision-guided
munitions as well as traditional "dumb bombs" and cluster
bombs.
The 72 planes the air force has, 51 of which are in active
service, entered service between 1984 and 1998 and were first
used in combat against Iraq in 1998. They were also used in
Kosovo.
Diego Garcia, which is British-owned, has been used as the
base for the B-1s and B�52s deployed in the Afghan conflict,
while B2 stealth bombers have flown from Missouri in the
central United States.
There was no indication of the cause of the crash, the
Pentagon spokeswoman Victoria Clarke said.
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