U.S. F-16 fighter plane crashes in Iraq

[sabra]

Source: Reuters

DUBAI, June 15 (Reuters) - A U.S. Air Force F-16 plane crashed during a mission in Iraq on Friday, the Air Force said in a statement.

The plane, which carried one crew member, "was flying on a close air support mission", the statement said without clarifying his fate.

The cause of the crash is under investigation, it said.

Read more: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L15687553.htm

[krispos42]

1. I hope the pilot is okay

[T Wolf]

2. Another several million dollars down in flames. Just think what that money

could have bought...

[global1]

3. Was This Plane Supporting Gate's Arrival In Iraq?....

I heard he made a surprise visit there today.

[Supersedeas]

4. thoughts are with that pilot

[Phrogman]

5. I bet the insurgents now have ground to air missles!

Its "Putins Payback"

[Pavulon]

10. middle of the night...

they have no technology that allows them to shoot down aircraft in the middle of the night.

[cliss]

6. Wow (thinking of the money involved here)

What's an F-16 worth?

I know how much a Black Hawk helicopter is worth = $70 million. Can you imagine how much an F-16 much cost?

[JohnLocke]

7. Black Hawks cost much less than $70 million.

The unit cost of the Army's UH-60L Black Hawk is $5.9 million.
http://www.nawcad.navy.mil/testwinglant/aircraft_details.cfm?platformID=27

F-16A/Bs cost $14.6 million (FY98 dollars) and F-16C/Ds $18.8 million (FY98 dollars)
http://www.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?fsID=103

Not cheap, of course, but neither approaches $70 million.

[Eugene]

8. Pilot killed in F-16 fighter crash on takeoff in Iraq, Air Force says

Source: Associated Press

Pilot killed in F-16 fighter crash on takeoff in Iraq, Air Force says

The Associated Press
Published: June 16, 2007

BAGHDAD: An Ohio National Guard pilot was killed when his F-16
fighter crashed shortly after takeoff from Balad Air Base in
central Iraq, an Air Force spokesman reported Saturday.

"They're investigating the accident and we won't know the exact
cause until that's completed. But it doesn't appear to be hostile
fire," said Col. Thomas Deall, a spokesman in the region for the
U.S. Central Command Air Forces.

In an initial statement late Friday, the Air Force said the jet went
down at 12:27 a.m. Friday while on a mission to support a ground
forces operation. Deall said it crashed 8 kilometers (5 miles)
north of the Balad base, 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of Baghdad.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/06/16/africa/ME-GEN-Iraq-Fighter-Crash.php

[Pavulon]

9. Night flight, instrument failure

or catastrophic mechanical failure. Could be error. He covered that five miles in minutes at 300 -500 kts. Middle of the night makes a shoot down impossible.

They have no technology that would allow a night time engagement of a jet.

Thoughts are with his family.

[daleo]

11. Why wouldn't a heat seeking missile work at night?

I should think a heat seeking missile would work better at night, since the difference between the jet exhaust and the nearby atmosphere would be accentuated.

Even visual targeting might be enhanced (i.e. hot exhaust against a dark background), so there could have been a lucky shot here.

I wouldn't dismiss it out of hand.

[davepc]

12. The cheap older Russian crap that's laying around Iraq don't have good night sights

you need to acquire the target in the sight and hold it there, and without effective night targeting the chance for the missile to acquire its target, much less hit it is miserable.

It's possiable that the insurgets got their hands on newer Russian/Chineese stuff (and the training to operate it) but since its mostly SA-7 and SA-14's out there, I'd belive the plane crashed for other reasons then being shot down.

[daleo]

13. That's a fair explanation

There have been a number of (possible) shoot-downs over the last year or two which could indicate that the insurgency has improved its weaponry and/or tactics, though.

I just don't think it is wise to dismiss possibilities out of hand - it smacks of underestimating one's enemy, which smacks of hubris, which is the Iraq invasion in a nutshell.