U.S. Fighter Jet Crashes In Libya; Pilots Ejected, Now "Safe"

A U.S. F-15E fighter jet crashed in Libya, near Benghazi, overnight, but the two crew members are believed to be safe after ejecting the plane. A reporter for The Telegraph discovered the wrecked plane today: "It is thought the F-15E fighter jet came to ground after suffering a mechanical failure. The US military confirmed that one of its jets had crash landed but said that it had not been shot down."

One of the crew members was recovered by Libyan rebels. ABC News reports, "The aircraft, based out of Royal Air Force Lakenheath, England, was flying out of Aviano Air Base in support of Operation Odyssey Dawn at the time of the incident." The NY Times calls this the "first known setback" to the operation and, "After three days of strikes authorized by the United Nations Security Council, however, disputes within the allied coalition over the future of the mission seemed unresolved, while China added its voice to demands by opponents of the intervention for an immediate cease-fire."

According to the Telegraph, the British Ministry of Defence spokesman Major General John Lorimer "said that the allied operations had stopped Col Gaddafi's assault on Benghazi in its tracks." He also said, "At this time, it would not be wise to disclose to Colonel Gaddafi precisely how well we believe we have performed in degrading his command and control network and his integrated air defence system."

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By Jen Chung in News on March 22, 2011 10:26 AM

Comments [rss]

Rammy

When these planes go down and after the pilots eject - is there some sort of remote trigger that blows up all the remaining ammo and missiles - or does all surviving munitions fall into the hands of whatever forces get to the plane first?

TheOtherBob

$30 million.

Len_Drexler

If the crew is safe I feel ok about saying this: Thank God we didn't crash another B2.

Roger_the_Shrubber

"The president does not have power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation."

Barack Obama 2007

Julian Bush

You're not the only one who watches Stewart...
Do some original research

mcsoxerhoff

Good thing he didn't and we are just supporting a UN Resolution.

Roger_the_Shrubber

So was Bush but Bush also got congressional approval.

Kojak1

congressional approval =! congressional declaration of war, which is the correct authorization. The War powers Act doesn't help either.

Spirit of 76

By lying through his teeth. So, Roger, have you come up with a single WMD from Saddam's arsenal yet?

BottomlessChips

Bush doctored the intelligence from the 10238.123 different agencies?

S.D.

Hope they are OK...

It's a great plane but I didn't know they still use F15's...

Kojak1

They will for a while since they cut production of the F-22's

Ph

No, the production of F-22's has nothing to do with a 30 year old airframe being retired.

Mari

It has more to do with acknowledging the fact we're not going to fight WWIII against the USSR and their Sukhoi-35 variants-the F-22 should have been replaced by the JSF by now but you know, LOBBYISTS

Spirit of 76

Different mission. This is an F-15E, a Strike Eagle that's designed to handle ground attack. The F-22 is strictly an air superiority fighter. There's nothing planned to replace the F-15E yet.

Kojak1

Ahh that makes sense. Thx for clarifying.

In any case, both blow up shit quite nicely.

Ph

The F-18 Superhornet has been its replacement for around 15 years now.

Spirit of 76

No, it's not. First of all, the Super Hornet is a carrier-based Navy jet. The Air Force operates Strike Eagles from fixed airfields. Secondly, the Strike Eagle is better than the Super Hornet in almost every way, having higher speed, longer range and larger payload.