U.S.

Hunting For Answers

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

March 26, 2001 / 10:44 AM EST / CBS

Search teams have spotted wreckage and a body in the Scottish Highlands where two U.S. F-15 jets were reported missing, the Royal Air Force said Tuesday.

The wreckage, identified as an F-15, was found near the summit of the 4,296-foot Ben Macdui, the tallest peak in the Cairngorm mountains.

"Rescuers searching for two missing American aircraft in the Cairngorms have discovered a body, believed to be one of the missing pilots," the Royal Air Force said.

The search by three Royal Air Force mountain rescue teams from Kinloss, Leuchars and Leeming, police and members of civilian rescue teams was hampered by wintry weather.

The U.S. Air Force named the missing airmen as Lieutenant Colonel Kenneth Hyvonen from the 48th Operations Support Squadron and Captain Kirk Jones of the 493rd Fighter Squadron.

Royal Air Force (RAF) search and rescue spokesman Michael Mulford refused to speculate on reports that the "Top Gun" fighters had crashed in the Cairngorm Mountains on Monday afternoon after touching in mid-air.

"It is a mystery until we solve it," he said of the apparent crashes of the combat aircraft which have ruled the skies for the last 30 years with their powerful engines, outstanding maneuverability and excellent radar.

CBS News Correspondent Kimberly Dozier reports it is not clear yet if the pilot ejected.

A third U.S. plane, an army RC-12, crashed near the southern German town of Nuremberg on Monday, killing two pilots.

The dead pilots were identified as Chief Warrant Officer George A. Graves, 44, and Chief Warrant Officer Lance Hill, 43, of Paradise, Calif.

Also Tuesday, a German military helicopter crashed in Meppen, Germany, killing all four people on board, army spokesman Siegfried Schaefer said.

It is unusual for more than one U.S. military plane to crash on the same day, but fatal training accidents are by no means rare. On March 3 an Army C-23 Sherpa crashed in Georgia, killing all 21 people on board, and on March 12 five American servicemen and one New Zealand army officer were killed when a U.S. Navy F/A-18 mistakenly hit them with bombs during training in Kuwait.

On Feb. 12, two Army Black Hawk helicopters collided during a nighttime training session in Hawaii on Feb. 12, killing six soldiers.

Statistics show that, overall, U.S. military aviation has become safer in recent years. For the fiscal year ended last Sept. 30, the military aviation accident rate was 1.23 per 100,000 flight hours - the lowest ever recorded. Fifty-eight service members were killed in aviation accidents that year, including one of the worst in years - a Marine Corps V-22 Osprey crash last April that killed all 19 Marines aboard.
Pentagon insiders claim the crashes are indicative of the high cost of cutting defense budgets — too few people, trying to do too much work, with too few resources, in a job where short cuts can be fatal.

Te single-seat F-15C aircraft were on a low-flying training mission when radio contact was lost at about 7:15 a.m. ET on Monday.

A member of the public reported hearing an explosion in the mountainous area at about the same time.

Fred Lawson, who was driving through the area with his wife Susan, told the BBC he saw the two planes.

"This jet came straight at us. I said to my wife, 'this is extraordinary, it looks totally out of control', whereupon it veered way up into the sky, turned left, and went north towards Ben Macdui into a heavy snow storm," Lawson said.

"A second one came following it looking as if it was under control."

Lawson said the planes were flying "extremely low" at a height of about 650 feet.

President Bush asked 10,000 people during a speech in Billings, Montana, to join him in a brief silent prayer for the four servicemen.

"I do want you all to join me in a moment of silent prayer for two soldiers, men who wore the uniform of America, who lost their lives in Germany and two of our pilots who are missing over Great Britain," he said.