A US military light aircraft developed for secret operations has crashed in Djibouti with the loss of all four crewmen on board.
The circumstances of the crash and the mission it was engaged in were not being disclosed. But the deaths of the four special operations airmen and the involvement of the turbo-prop U28A aircraft highlighted the growing use of a US base in Djibouti for secret missions in Somalia and Yemen.
A spokesman for US Air Force 1st Special Operations Wing confirmed there were no passengers on board the U28A when it crashed on Saturday, which might indicate it was en route to Somalia or Yemen to pick up special operations troops.
An urgent investigation has now been launched by the US Air Force.
The light aircraft which cost $3.4 million was designed to support special operations forces in the field. It has a single turbo-prop engine and can land on dirt or grass strips. The U28A, made by the Swiss company, Pilatus, was first introduced in 2005.
The crash which was being described by the Air Force as an accident will have caused dismay among special operations troops because the aircraft has a reputation for reliability.
The accident happened near Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti, a base used by American special operations troops and the CIA.
The four crewmen were identified as Captain Ryan Hall, 30, assigned to the 319th Special Operations Squadron in Florida, Captain Nicholas Whitlock, 29, and 1st Lieutenant Justin Wilkens, 26, both of the 34th Special Operations Squadron, in Florida, and Senior Airman Julian Scholten, 26, of the 25th Intelligence Squadron, also in Florida.
The Pentagon said the airmen were involved in Operation Enduring Freedom, codename for the war in Afghanistan and also for America’s general war on terrorism.
US Navy Seal Team Six commandos took off from Camp Lemonnier airbase last month when they rescued an American woman and her Danish colleague from heavily armed pirates who had taken them hostage in October last year. All nine pirates were killed.
The camp comes under the command of Africa Command which is responsible for operations in the Horn of Africa, an area increasingly affected by terrorist activities.
Camp Lemonnier is situated on the southern side of Djibouti international airport. Leon Panetta, the US Defence Secretary, visited the camp in December. He said America’s missions against al-Qaeda depended on partnerships with countries like Djibouti which hosts the only US base in sub-Saharan Africa.
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