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U-2 Spyplane Down . . .

Pilot lost in crash

'Returning to base after mission over Afganistan'

Update

"Location not disclosed due to host nations sensitivities"

We're flying these out of the UAE (United Arab Emirantes)

"The specific location is not releasable due to host nation sensitivities," U.S. Air Force Capt. David W. Small, a Central Command spokesman, said in an e-mail when asked for more information.

In Washington, Lt. Col. Barry Venable, a Pentagon spokesman, said the plane had completed a mission related to U.S. operations in Afghanistan and crashed as it was returning to its base, the location of which he did not disclose.

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

American U-2s operate out of a base in the United Arab Emirates, although U.S. military officials refuse to discuss this fact at the UAE's request.

UAE is on the Arabian Peninsula in the South Eastern Quadrant
UAE
Immediately accross the Gulf of Oman from Iran



 
Probably surveying for our future Iranian occupation, no doubt.
 
Sorry for the pilot, but this is not that big of a deal. These things are mechanical beasts and things do go wrong. I doubt it was shot down as the equipment needed to do that can be pretty intensive. Nothing that a terrorist trying to hide in a cave could really get away with these days.
 
Originally posted by: irwincur
Sorry for the pilot, but this is not that big of a deal. These things are mechanical beasts and things do go wrong. I doubt it was shot down as the equipment needed to do that can be pretty intensive. Nothing that a terrorist trying to hide in a cave could really get away with these days.
Click to expand...


I think some old mountain peasant shot it down with his elephant rifle from 1872.
 
Originally posted by: Genx87
Originally posted by: jpeyton
Probably surveying for our future Iranian occupation, no doubt.
Click to expand...

We have already invaded as of yesterday, didnt you know?
Click to expand...

Yeah, last minute preparations for our invasion at the end of June. Jus ask Ritter, he knows...
 
Originally posted by: ntdz
Originally posted by: Genx87
Originally posted by: jpeyton
Probably surveying for our future Iranian occupation, no doubt.
Click to expand...

We have already invaded as of yesterday, didnt you know?
Click to expand...

Yeah, last minute preparations for our invasion at the end of June. Jus ask Ritter, he knows...
Click to expand...

Shhh.. remember what conjur said though - if it doesn't happen when he says it will, it's because of the huge conspiracy by those in charge of planning to discredit him. *wink, wink*
 
Originally posted by: CaptnKirk

You just don't shoot them down - there's some mechanical failure that contributed to this.
Click to expand...

A little recent history lesson-U-2s can be shot down. In 1960 a U-2 was shot down over Russia. The US initially claimed it wasn't a spyplane, just a weather balloon. A few days later the Soviets paraded out the captured pilot-Francis Gary Powers. The Soviet leader shortly thereafter stormed out of a summit meeting in Paris, greatly heightening the tensions of the Cold War.

Powers U-2 shootdown

Although I agree it is highly unlikely this plane was shot down this time.
 
The U-2 that Powers flew had a engine malfunction that led to a flame-out.
The plane had to decend to an altitude that had enought oxygen to perform a restart,
since the turbine compressors couldn't compact the air to a combustionalble fuel/air ratio.
Before he could get a restart, the bird was hit by a SAM.

You'll never be able to confirm this, by the way - conspiracy therorists, et al.

It couldn't be shot down then, unless there was a malfunction, which there was.
This one went down returning to it's base in the UAE, almost certainly in the UAE.
 
A little recent history lesson-U-2s can be shot down. In 1960 a U-2 was shot down over Russia.
Click to expand...

Note who shot it down.

To shoot down a U2, you need some serious hardware. A shoulder launched missile that would most likely be found outside of the three or four major militaries of the world would not cut it.
 
Originally posted by: irwincur
A little recent history lesson-U-2s can be shot down. In 1960 a U-2 was shot down over Russia.
Click to expand...

Note who shot it down.

To shoot down a U2, you need some serious hardware.
A shoulder launched missile that would most likely be found outside of the three or four major militaries of the world would not cut it.
Click to expand...

It could be taken down by a sholder launched missle if it was on approach to touchdown.
A 'Stinger' would do the job easily, and we can't account for hundreds that we gave to Bin Laden when he was
'With us - not against us' in Afganistan against the Russians.

Even a lucky shot from an RPG could be fatal to the plane under the right circumstances.

 
Granted, during approach. I was working under the assumption that it was flying.

Whatever the case, it was most likely mechanical. These things are getting OLD.
 
Originally posted by: irwincur
Granted, during approach. I was working under the assumption that it was flying.

Whatever the case, it was most likely mechanical. These things are getting OLD.
Click to expand...

'Old' in AErospace terms is quite relative - B-52's have been flying for over half the entire history of powered flight -
and they still have a 40 year airframe life expectancy left.

Then there's th 'Original' U-2 & the re-designed & updated TR-1 which is like a U-2
that has been 'Supersized' same design - just 40% larger and built new from scratch

U-2, no Bono - circa 1955

TR-1, bigger & better - circa 1981 (within the same article)

The U-2R, first flown in 1967, was 40 percent larger and more capable than the original aircraft. A tactical reconnaissance version, the TR-1A, first flew in August 1981 and was structurally identical to the U-2R. The last U-2 and TR-1 aircraft were delivered in October 1989; in 1992 all TR-1s and U-2s were designated as U-2Rs. Starting in 1994, the Air Force initiated a $1.7 billion effort to modernize the U-2. This upgrade also resulted in the re-designation of all aircraft to the U-2S.

Smoke & Mirrors . . .
 
Hm, if it was lost on approach to UAE, I don't see what the sensitivity is, everyone knows this is where they're based. I wonder if Iran already has the capability to shoot down a U-2 at 70,000 feet and in a week or two will produce a pilot? If you look at the map, Iran is right where the plane would go over flying from Afghanistan to UAE.
 
Crashed durning landing attempt in UAE

The U-2 is a single-seat aircraft that can cruise at more than 70,000 feet, twice the normal altitude of commercial airliners. In use frequently over Afghanistan and Iraq, the plane and its missions have tended to be cloaked in secrecy.

Even mention of the base it uses in the Middle East -- the UAE's Al Dhafra Air Base -- has frequently been avoided by U.S. military and diplomatic authorities, citing host nation sensitivities, although the fact is widely known.

The UAE's news agency WAM said the U-2 crashed while trying to land and that UAE authorities were assisting in a U.S.-led investigation. The agency said the United States has an agreement with the UAE that allows use of some military facilities.



At about 3:30 AM
 
----removed----

These planes fly very slow on approach and are vulnerable to MANPADS and AAA, but the area around the base is very tightly controlled. Most likely it was some kind of accident we'll probably learn more about in a few months.
 
I was reading memoirs of a former pilot of a U2. Apparently, these are very hard to control, have poor visibility (long nose), and basically you have to be a real ace to fly these things. It could have been a tiny error that sent the plane crashing.
 
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