U.S. pilot killed in spy plane crash

BAGHDAD, Iraq – An American U-2 spy plane crashed while returning to its base in the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday, killing the pilot after a mission in support of U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

The aircraft crashed in the Emirates while approaching the base to land, a Pentagon official said. Early reports gave no indication of hostile fire. It was too soon to be certain why it crashed.

The U-2 is a single-seat, single-engine reconnaissance plane that operates at an altitude of more than 70,000 feet and has been used in every major conflict the United States has fought since the aircraft went into service a half-century ago.

With its bicycle-type landing gear and the challenges of handling the aircraft at low altitudes, the U-2 requires a high level of precision during landing. Forward visibility is limited, partly because of the extended nose. A second pilot normally “chases” the U-2 while it lands, assisting the pilot by providing information on altitude and runway alignment.

The military did not immediately release the location or circumstances of the crash because it did not want to create problems for the nation where the plane went down. Officials withheld the name of the pilot pending notification of relatives.

According to the military, the crash happened at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday PDT, or early Wednesday in the Emirates.

In Washington, Lt. Col. Barry Venable, a Pentagon spokesman, said the plane had completed a mission related to Operation Enduring Freedom, code name for U.S. actions in Afghanistan.

A U.S. security team was at the site of the crash, Venable said.

The wing has been based at al-Dhafra air base near Abu Dhabi in the Emirates since 2002 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. It flies various types of aircraft including aerial refueling tankers and the Global Hawk, a pilot-less plane about the size of a Boeing 737.

A board was appointed to determine the cause of the crash. It was not clear when the results would be completed.

U.S. Central Command said the crash occurred in “southwest Asia,” a term that can substitute for Middle East.

The plane was introduced in 1955.

A U-2 was shot down May 1, 1960, over Soviet territory while photographing missile installations. Pilot Francis Gary Powers was captured, convicted as a spy and held for almost two years before being traded for a KGB captive.

In 1962, the Soviet Union began installing 42 medium-range nuclear missiles in Cuba. U.S. spy planes detected the missiles, and the United States began a naval blockade of the island nation. Tensions peaked when Cuba shot down a U-2 on Oct. 27. Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev submitted to President Kennedy’s demand the missiles be withdrawn.

In January 2003, a U-2 crashed in South Korea. The pilot ejected to safety, but four Koreans on the ground were injured.