U-2 crashes in Southwest Asia

[falcon-watcher]

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A U.S. U-2 spy plane has crashed in southwest Asia, but the military has not disclosed the location of the crash or any of the circumstances.

The U.S. Air Force, in a short written statement, said the cause of the crash and the fate of the U-2 pilot was not known.

The U-2, a single-seat jet able to fly at high altitudes on surveillance missions, has been flown by the U.S. Air Force for over 50 years.

Officials said the plane went down Tuesday evening.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/06/22/spy.pl ... index.html

[IDCrewDawg]

Read a report that says the pilot died.

[falcon-watcher]

very sad

http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?storyID=123010842

[desmo]

I thought they stopped the U2 and SR-71 programs because we had spy satellites that were cheaper and better. Does anyone know why theyre using the U2 instead of the SR-71?

[sweetpete]

My condolences to his family, but they can be proud that he died serving his country and doing what he loved.

Peter

[LinkF16SimDude]

I thought they stopped the U2 and SR-71 programs because we had spy satellites that were cheaper and better. Does anyone know why theyre using the U2 instead of the SR-71?

Probably 'cause the SR-71's been retired since at least the mid to late 90's? The U-2 is a tradeoff (IMO): less operating expense, slower speed, but the about same coverage as the Blackbird.

And no matter how many license plates your Keyhole bird can read from orbit, a spy sat will always, ALWAYS, be restricted to specific overflight times (i.e. it'll only be over certain landmasses at specific times during its orbit, which the bad guy can calculate with any abacus and then hide his assets accordingly). Manned recon (and possibly UCAV-based recon in the future) gives you the flexibility to go where ever and when ever you need to on relatively short notice while at the same time denying the enemy his orbital foresight.

[IDCrewDawg]

The U2 is used and has been used continually for the exact reason link stated. The SR can't loiter like the U-2 can, therefore it had some limitations similar to a satalite. In the long run the satalite is most likely cheaper to operate than the SR, so they cut the program.

[falcon-watcher]

U-2 pilot identified

6/24/2005 - WASHINGTON (AFPN) -- Department of Defense officials identified the pilot killed in a U-2 surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft crash June 22 in Southwest Asia.

Maj. Duane Dively, 43, of Rancho California, Calif., had completed flying a mission supporting Operation Enduring Freedom and was returning to his base when the crash occurred. He was deployed to the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing at a forward-deployed location from the 1st Reconnaissance Squadron at Beale Air Force Base, Calif.

The cause of the crash is under investigation.

[ldiablosv2000]

desmo, I was recently talking in person with a senior air force officer about the U2 and the SR71. I mentioned something about the Blackbird being retired and he told me that it was only retired from the air force but that the CIA still uses the SR-71. Just though I'd share that

[huggy]

Your "senior Air Force officer" is incorrect. The last jets are gone. Nobody flies them anymore, and they are museum pieces now.

[MKopack]

From the Air Force News Service:
http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?storyID=123012041

Officials: Catastrophic events caused U-2 crash

10/6/2005 - LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. (AFPN) -- A catastrophic, cascading sequence of events, beginning with the inflight failure of the power takeoff shaft, caused a U-2S surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft to crash June 22 in Southwest Asia, killing the pilot, according to Air Force investigators.

The aircraft was returning to a forward-deployed location from a high-altitude intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance mission at the time of the accident. It was assigned to the 9th Reconnaissance Wing at Beale Air Force Base, Calif.

The inflight failure of the power takeoff shaft resulted in an instantaneous loss of power to the airframe-mounted accessory drive, according to the Accident Investigation Board report released Oct. 6. That caused the aircraft to lose its hydraulics systems, alternating current and direct current generators, primary cockpit lighting and cockpit multifunctional displays. The failures occurred during a critical phase of flight -- a descending turn below 3,500 feet in preparation for a night landing.

The vibration and noise caused by the inflight failure of the takeoff shaft, followed by the immediate loss of multifunctional displays, led the pilot to conclude the aircraft was experiencing a serious engine malfunction when in actuality the engine was operating, board investigators said.

With the entire mishap sequence lasting only 63 seconds, human factors such as task over-saturation, channelized attention and spatial disorientation substantially contributed to the pilot's loss of situational awareness and the steady descent of the aircraft until it impacted the ground, officials said. (Courtesy of Air Combat Command News Service)

[trailmix]

Any thoughts on why he didnt get out? Is there an ejection system on the U-2?

[Guysmiley]

As MKopack's post says:

With the entire mishap sequence lasting only 63 seconds, human factors such as task over-saturation, channelized attention and spatial disorientation substantially contributed to the pilot's loss of situational awareness and the steady descent of the aircraft until it impacted the ground, officials said.

In other words, controlled flight into terrain. The pilot didn't realize he was flying into the ground because once the PTO went he had no electrical power and thus not all of his instruments. Sucks.