A safety investigation board and an accident investigation board are reviewing the crash of an MC-12 surveillance airplane in Afghanistan last month that killed its four aircrew members, announced Air Combat Command officials on Wednesday. ACC chief Gen. Mike Hostage convened the SIB to quickly determine the cause of the crash and recommend safety measures to prevent future accidents, states the command’s May 15 release. The AIB, led by Brig. Gen. Donald Bacon from the Air Staff’s intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance office, will investigate the mishap and produce a publically releasable report on its findings, according to the release. The crash occurred on April 27 “in an uninhabited area 112 miles northeast of Kandahar Airfield,” states the release.
A-10 Thunderbolt II attack planes in the Middle East are flying with fresh modifications as the Air Force looks to make the plane more versatile amid America’s ongoing blockade of Iranian ports and a tenuous ceasefire in the U.S. air war against Iran.