An Air Force B-1B bomber headed for a mission over Afghanistan crashed into the Indian Ocean on Wednesday after experiencing "multiple malfunctions" shortly after taking off from the island of Diego Garcia.
All four crew members ejected from the $200-million bomber before it crashed into the ocean about 30 miles north of the island, Pentagon officials said. The crew members, who suffered minor injuries, were rescued by a U.S. Navy destroyer that was in the area.
It was the first crash of a fixed-wing U.S. aircraft since military operations began in Afghanistan two months ago, and it marked the seventh B-1 bomber to be lost since the troubled plane first rolled off the Palmdale production line in 1985. Three special operations helicopters have also been destroyed during the Afghan campaign.
The crash comes just as the B-1 fleet was receiving recognition for its contribution in Afghanistan, the first major conflict in which it has been used. The B-1, one of the most maligned U.S. aircraft in recent history, has dropped a majority of the bombs in the central Asian country.
In a satellite telephone interview from Diego Garcia shortly after his rescue, the pilot of the B-1 said the crew was "flying a normally scheduled mission" when the aircraft went out of control and the crew was forced to eject.
"We had multiple malfunctions," said Capt. William Steele, a member of the 28th Bomb Wing out of Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota. "The aircraft was out of control and we all had to eject."
A Pentagon spokeswoman said the bomber was about 100 miles north of Diego Garcia when it began to experience trouble, which prompted the crew to turn the plane around and head back toward the base.
Unable to fix the problems, the crew ejected from the bomber when it was about 60 miles from the island and flying at about 15,000 feet, according a Pentagon official and the pilot. The crewless plane flew another 30 miles before crashing into the sea at about 10:30 p.m.
Diego Garcia, a British island in the central Indian Ocean, is being used as a base by the U.S. military for combat missions over Afghanistan.
Pentagon officials and the pilot declined to say whether the plane was loaded with munitions, or if it went down with any weapons aboard. They also refused to describe the "multiple malfunctions," pending an investigation.
