USAF having a rough couple of weeks: U.S. Military Plane Crashes in Kyrgyzstan

[NEED-A-VETTE]

U.S. Military Plane Crashes in Kyrgyzstan

By KIRIT RADIA and DRAGANA JOVANOVIC
MOSCOW May 3, 2013

A U.S. military plane crashed in Kyrgyzstan today, shortly after taking off from the Manas Transit Center.

The aircraft was a KC-135, a refueling tanker based on the Boeing 707. It is not immediately clear how many passengers were on board, but such tankers usually carry only a handful of crew members.

Col. Dzhambulbek Dzumagolov, the head of the rescue mission, told ABC News he believes there were no survivors, but added that they have not yet recovered any remains.

The Air Force issued a statement confirmed the crash, saying "the status of the crew is unknown" and adding that the cause remains under investigation. The Air Force said the crew and plane were based at Manas.

The plane went down about 2:30 p.m. near the village of Chaldovar, less than 100 miles from the capital of Bishkek and near the border with Kazakhstan, according to a spokesman for the Kyrgyz Emergency Situations Ministry. Witnesses told the Russia's state-owned news agency RIA Novosti they heard a big boom in the sky and that the plane broke into several parts. Debris has been found over a large area.

"Everything around is burning," a witness told RIA Novosti.

Two teams of 17 rescue workers have been able to reach the crash site, the ministry said, which is located in a mountainous area. Helicopters are also searching from the sky. The ministry has requested that additional rescuers be sent to the scene.

Russia's Interfax news agency, quoting local media, reports that a wing from the plane landed on or near a house belonging to a shepherd. According to the report there are no reports yet of injuries on the ground.

The Manas Transit Center is the primary hub for troops and equipment coming in and out of Afghanistan.

The Kyrgyz government has set up a committee to investigate the cause of the crash.

[onedef92]

Wow. My prayers and condolences to the victims and their families.

[VITE1]

[mrvette]

[Blue Demon]

Very sad, hate to hear of such tragic events.

[CBonsall]

[69camfrk]

Damn! A C-12, KC-135R, and a 747 cargo jet carrrying military cargo all in one week. Wow! I have flown all over the world on 135's. If it exploded in the air, I would bet money on a shorted out wire in one of the fuel tanks. There are wires up the yin yang in the tanks and one good spark makes for one helluva boom. Prayers for all involved.

[wwomanC6]

[Sea Six]

Damn.

[Dan Dlabay]

May they all rest in peace and be blessed by God.

[NEED-A-VETTE]

Originally Posted by 69camfrk

Damn! A C-12, KC-135R, and a 747 cargo jet carrrying military cargo all in one week. Wow! I have flown all over the world on 135's. If it exploded in the air, I would bet money on a shorted out wire in one of the fuel tanks. There are wires up the yin yang in the tanks and one good spark makes for one helluva boom. Prayers for all involved.

It's been a tragic week.

[Norm]

Another sad day.

[69camfrk]

Originally Posted by NEED-A-VETTE

It's been a tragic week.

A guy at work said his brother knew the pilot of the 747 that went down. From what I gather he was an ex B-1B pilot out of Dyess AFB Tx. I knew as soon as I saw the 747 video, it was cargo that had broken loose. Being in the AF/ Air Guard for 20 years it's tough seeing stuff like that.

[wwomanC6]

Unfortunately with all these crashes lately, looks like the Air Force needs to do a safety stand down.






Safety Stand Down - Day in which the squadron shuts down and does safety training. They review their practices and look for problems and way to improve and fix them.