|
Saturday, February 21, 1998
Air Force wants secret maps, documents back
in bomber crash
By TED BRIDIS / Associated Press
MARION, Ky. -- Air Force investigators looking into the crash
of a Dyess Air Force Base B-1 bomber in a Kentucky cow pasture
want people here to return any top secret documents or maps found
strewn among wreckage scattered across 20 acres.
All four of the crew members parachuted to safety. No one was
hurt on the ground after the bomber, unmanned after the crew bailed
out, flew 12 miles to crash Wednesday in this rural farming community.
A local resident who found a tattered copy of a large red notebook
marked "7th Wing Communications; Secret NATO Crypto"
brought it to the weekly newspaper and posed for a photograph,
holding it aloft like a trophy bass.
Air Force Lt. Col. Janet Reese looked exasperated when asked
about the incident.
"They need to bring that stuff in," Reese said.
The military specifically warned people not to touch the crew's
four ejection seats, which haven't been found and could contain
live explosive charges. Authorities have said the bomber was unarmed.
Authorities said the crew ejected safely from 20,000 feet after
smoke filled the cockpit during a routine, cross-country training
mission from Dyess.
Dyess canceled all B-1 flights Thursday during an internal
safety review. Flights at the four other B-1B bases nationwide
were not affected.
Send a Letter to the Editor about This
Story | Start or Join A Discussion about This Story
Send the URL (Address)
of This Story to A Friend:
Copyright ©1998,
Abilene Reporter-News / Texnews / E.W. Scripps Publications
|
