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US B-1b bomber down in Indian Ocean
A US B-1b bomber crashed in the Indian Ocean, but its four crew members were rescued and in good condition, the Defence Department said.
A US B-1b bomber crashed in the Indian Ocean, but its four crew members were rescued and in good condition, the Defence Department said.
The airmen ejected from the jet and spent two hours in waters 90 kilometres north of the British base of Diego Garcia before they were picked up by rescuers from the USS Russell destroyer on Wednesday.
The sleek four-engine jet was en route to Afghanistan for an overnight bombing raid when it developed ``multiple aircraft malfunction``, pilot Captain William Steele said in a briefing. The aircraft headed back for the island base but then went ``out of control``, forcing the airmen to eject about 15 minutes later from an altitude of about 5,000 metres, Steele said. Except for some scratches and bruises, all four crew were reported well after the crash, which happened about 1630 hrs GMT. The water was calm, warm and free of sharks, Steele said. A rescuer, addressing a Washington press briefing by telephone, recounted spotting the crew, who were equipped with radio beacons, saying, ``they were just as happy to see us as we were to see them.``
``I have to disagree a little bit,`` Steele replied. ``I think we were much happier to see them.`` Diego Garcia, 1,800 kilometres south of India, has been a major staging base for long-range bombers pounding Taliban and Al-Qaeda targets in Afghanistan as part of the US-led military campaign there.
The supersonic B-1b bombers, which cost about 200 million dollars each, were built in the 1980s by Rockwell International, which was later bought by aircraft Giant Boeing. Bureau Report
The sleek four-engine jet was en route to Afghanistan for an overnight bombing raid when it developed ``multiple aircraft malfunction``, pilot Captain William Steele said in a briefing. The aircraft headed back for the island base but then went ``out of control``, forcing the airmen to eject about 15 minutes later from an altitude of about 5,000 metres, Steele said. Except for some scratches and bruises, all four crew were reported well after the crash, which happened about 1630 hrs GMT. The water was calm, warm and free of sharks, Steele said. A rescuer, addressing a Washington press briefing by telephone, recounted spotting the crew, who were equipped with radio beacons, saying, ``they were just as happy to see us as we were to see them.``
``I have to disagree a little bit,`` Steele replied. ``I think we were much happier to see them.`` Diego Garcia, 1,800 kilometres south of India, has been a major staging base for long-range bombers pounding Taliban and Al-Qaeda targets in Afghanistan as part of the US-led military campaign there.
The supersonic B-1b bombers, which cost about 200 million dollars each, were built in the 1980s by Rockwell International, which was later bought by aircraft Giant Boeing. Bureau Report