November 28, 2006
UPDATE II: Al Jazeera TV claiming that The Mujahideen Shura Council (MSC) and Mujahideen Army, in a joint statement, claim downing of plane. Odd, since the MSC no longer calls itself the MSC, but rather "The Islamic State of Iraq". The group formerly known as the MSC, though, is an al Qaeda-Salafi-jihadi umbrella organization.
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Update III: The Military has identified the missing Pilot as:
The Department of Defense announced today the identity of an airman listed as Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown (DUSTWUN).Hat Tip: Opinion Bug.Maj. Troy L. Gilbert was the pilot of an Air Force F-16C engaged in support of coalition ground combat operations that crashed approximately 20 miles northwest of Baghdad Nov. 27.
Gilbert is assigned to the 309th Fighter Squadron, Luke Air Force Base, AZ and currently deployed to the 332nd Expeditionary Wing, Balad Air Force Base, Iraq.
We pray for his family and demand his return and that he is treated respectfully.
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The pilot of the F16 which crashed in Iraq on Monday is still missing. A video has emerged taken just after the crash. The video is posted below (warning: graphic). In it, what are described as "locals" by the MSM can be seen disrespecting the plane. They also show the body of the dead pilot. US forces are searching to recover his remains before they can be disrespected any more.
CNN: The Air Force F-16CG fighter jet crashed Monday outside of Baghdad while flying on a low-level "strafing run" -- firing on targets on the ground at a low altitude -- a U.S. military official in Baghdad said….The plane may have been hit by small arms fire, had a malfunction or simply sucked a bird into the intake for its single engine as in this video. The “up and down†motions described is the pilot trying to gain altitude to eject safely and also avoid a stall. The nosedive described is the stall. Sounds like this man made a valiant effort to save his plane and probably was just too low to eject safely.…A Pentagon source said the plane was operating near Falluja, which is about 30 miles west of Baghdad.
Al-Jazeera, the Middle East-based television news network, has aired video showing what it said was the smoldering wreckage of the F-16. The video shows pieces of the aircraft including the tail which displays the aircraft's number and an "Air Combat Command" logo.
It said the video was shot in Karma, which is about nine miles (15 kilometers) northeast of Falluja.
Mohammed Al-Obeidi, an Iraqi who lives in the nearby town of Karmah, told The Associated Press he saw the jet flying up and down erratically before it nose-dived and exploded in a farm field.
He said other U.S. warplanes rushed to the crash site and were circling around it.
The F-16 was deployed to the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing at Balad Air Base, Iraq.
This is not consistent with a missile shoot down, there would have been no up and down motion. Our enemies in Iraq have used a limited number of Russian SA7 shoulder fired missiles but that would have been obvious. Enemy claims of a missle strike are possible but doubtful.
Note CNN describes the men in the video as locals and not insurgents. But the one places his foot on the plane’s insignia, a show of disrespect. They also run like rabbits at the sound of approaching US warplanes. It also shows what appears to be the body of the pilot, and that he ejected from the plane prior to impact. How and when the pilot’s body was removed is not clear. However one of the men forgets to cover his face so I’d say someone will be looking him up real soon.
The insurgents may have taken the pilot’s body to extract a ransom to raise funds or for propaganda purposes. These terrorist war criminals have been known to murder pilots when captured. Also they have used the body of a dead pilot for propaganda purposes. These actions are war crimes and we should treat the enemy for what they are: terrorists & war criminals.
Note: CNN had the best coverage on this so I had to hold my nose and post it.
Alternative sources : ABC and Reuters
Hat Tips: Northern Watch and Doubletap.
Posted by: Howie at
10:20 AM
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Posted by: Bill Faith at November 28, 2006 12:21 PM (n7SaI)
IIRC, the F-16, and all current US fighter/attack aircraft have 0/0 ejection seats, so altitude wouldn't have been a problem. He could have safely ejected from the runway if needs be.
My own interpretation, and it is just that, is he was trying to maneuver to avoid civilian homes or structures, fighting hard to avoid those "collateral" damages the press loves to talk about. He may very well have died trying to save innocent lives and property from destruction, yet you can see with what regard this action is held by the locals.
Respects,
Posted by: AW1 Tim at November 28, 2006 12:23 PM (mQRXs)
If you are like me want to see what normally happens when our troops get air support see thge jubasucks.blogspot.com blog. I found a couple vids there that should make you feel better.
Posted by: Howie at November 28, 2006 12:26 PM (YdcZ0)
Whatever the case, I seriously doubt the haji with the flip-flops shot him down.
Posted by: blackflag at November 28, 2006 02:11 PM (Mq5jS)
Here is another obvious one, where was his wingman? I assume planes still don't fly by themselves (a single plane). Wouldn't the wing man stay close to the site to facilitate SAR?
It could be exactly what it is said to be, but you know what they say about first reports from the field...
Posted by: Craig at November 28, 2006 03:29 PM (QrOTV)
Don't think the guy rode it all the way in, as it looks like a canopy and risers in the last few frames of the video - don't want to speculate what the risers were attached to, but it's a good guess that if it was the pilot, the guy with the camera probably would have done a closeup. Or maybe he did do a closeup, but it wasn't part of that clip.
The Tail marking of "CC" indicates it's a bird from Cannon AFB, and at 00:22 the 524 FS (524th Fighter Squadron) marking is clear.
Yes, he probably had a wingman, but, there probably wasn't much he could do but circle the area awaiting CSAR (Combat Search and Rescue) activation - in fact he may have run low on gas and had to leave before they arrived. Even if he was still on station, ROE (rules of engagement) would probably restrict him from randomly firing on unidentified people on the ground approaching the crash site (who could be curious civilians as easily as they could be bad guys) - particularly if his buddy went down due to a broken jet (as opposed to being shot at - something which, SA-7/16 (ok, let's go 7, a 16 is an 'Igla' - "needle") claims aside, is pretty unlikely). Less likely if you consider that SA-7's have been out of production for a while now, and they do have a "use by" date (the period of which I can't recall exactly) after which point they're about as accurate as throwing a rock, randomly, and which is the condition that probably any SA-7s the jihadis have would be in.
Posted by: Wind Rider at November 28, 2006 04:06 PM (HrAuc)
Posted by: Howie at November 28, 2006 05:45 PM (YdcZ0)
If we don't get him back, we tell him that we're shelling the down for 48 hours straight. Randomly. If we get him back dead and abused, they get shelled for 24 hours. If we get him back dead, they get shelled for 12 hours. Alive, they are spared.
Posted by: Spade at November 28, 2006 10:00 PM (Cdw8j)
Posted by: Darth Odie at November 28, 2006 10:16 PM (YdcZ0)
Posted by: TexasFriends at December 02, 2006 09:40 AM (B5vRG)
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