The Pentagon, hit by the spectacular failure of an F-117A stealth fighter at an air show, is defending the use of warplanes at such events. A senior lawmaker called for a halt to the public displays.
"I feel we should not be utilizing this type of military asset in this type of show," Sen. John Warner, R-Va., said Monday of the F-117, which garnered fame with its nightime bombing runs on Baghdad during the Persian Gulf War.Pentagon officials say they had 973 requests for aircraft to appear at shows, static displays, or to conduct flyovers during 1997 fiscal year. They approved 880 of the appearances.
Defense Secretary William Cohen, speaking at a gathering celebrating the Air Force's 50th birthday, lauded the F-117 pilot as a hero for managing to steer his aircraft away from populated areas outside Baltimore, Md., as he fought to regain control during Sunday's air show.
Cohen said Maj. Bryan Knight displayed "courage and competence" and "helped divert a much larger disaster."
The remaining 53 F-117s were grounded Monday pending completion of an investigation of the accident. Citing national security, the military is keeping nine families from their homes until the crash is investigated.
The Air Force's birthday celebration was also marred when a U.S. C-141 Starlifter and a German air force plane apparently collided and crashed Saturday off the coast of Africa. Nine Americans and 24 Germans were feared dead.
Searchers have recovered one body, but "the possibility of saving survivors is getting slimmer," Lt. Col. Eddie Brown of South Africa, who is overseeing rescue and search efforts, told reporters Tuesday.
A Navy F-A-18 fighter crashed Sunday in Oman, killing the pilot, bringing to 10 the number of American servicemen feared dead from the weekend tragedies.
And, a Marine F/A-18D Hornet fighter jet crashed into a swamp near Cape Hatteras, N.C., Monday night during a routine bombing exercise, the Marine Corps said.
The body of one of the pilots was recovered, according to Marine Capt. Whitney Mason at the Marine Corps Air Station in Beaufort, S.C. The search for the other pilot was continuing, she said.