Five 
airmen with the 438th Air Expeditionary Wing in Kabul helped recover parts of an Afghan air force Mi-17 helicopter that crashed in Afghanistan’s mountainous east-central border region of Nuristan. With the assistance of Army Pathfinders, the airmen documented the crash and stripped out usable sections for an Army CH-47 Chinook helicopter to carry back to base in a sling. The airmen and soldiers destroyed the components deemed unrecoverable on site. Nine Afghan personnel were injured in the May 11 crash, but there were no fatalities. The Afghan air force is convening a board of enquiry into the mishap. “This board is made up of various specialties of the AAF,” said Maj. Jay Troxell, 438th AEW safety officer. USAF airmen will play a strictly advisory role in the investigation, which is expected to wrap up next month. (Nuristan report by SSgt. Justin Weaver)
Depot-level maintenance took longer than expected for nearly three-quarters of Air Force aircraft from fiscal 2019-2024, according to a new report, as unplanned repairs rise across the aging fleet. The report, from the Government Accountability Office, also found that the extent of the delays has been masked because officials often revise their target timelines after unplanned work occurs.