B-1 BOMBER LOST IN THE INDIAN OCEAN!!

Fox News

[Walkin Man]

BREAKING ON TV!!

[RetiredArmy]

Pilots out?

[isthisnickcool]

May the Lord be with them.

[mystery-ak]

No info on the 4-man crew....Pray for their safety.

[Walkin Man]

B-1

[Fury]

Darn it... Well, time will tell it this was the result of enemy fire...

[American Soldier]

Could this be the result of the use of some kind of missile system smuggled out by some of the Al Qaeda / Taliban thugs sneaking out on ships?

[Walkin Man]

They didn't say anything about the aircrew, they are talking about the video of bin-Laden now.

[Heisenburger]

B-1 uses nap-of-the-earth flight. Perhaps they got to close to the waves.

[deport]

The B-1B was first used in combat in support of operations against Iraq during Operation Desert Fox in December 1998. B-1s have been subsequently used in Operation Allied Force.

General Characteristics

Primary Function: Long-range, multi-role, heavy bomber
Builder: Boeing, North America (formerly Rockwell International, North American Aircraft)
Operations Air Frame and Integration: Offensive avionics, Boeing Military Airplane; defensive avionics, AIL Division
Power plant: Four General Electric F-101-GE-102 turbofan engine with afterburner
Thrust: 30,000-plus pounds with afterburner, per engine
Length: 146 feet (44.5 meters)
Wingspan: 137 feet (41.8 meters) extended forward, 79 feet (24.1 meters) swept aft
Height: 34 feet (10.4 meters)
Weight: Empty, approximately 190,000 pounds (86,183 kilograms)
Maximum Takeoff Weight: 477,000 pounds (216,634 kilograms)
Speed: 900-plus mph (Mach 1.2 at sea level)
Range: Intercontinental, unrefueled
Ceiling: More than 30,000 feet (9,144 meters)
Crew: Four (aircraft commander, copilot, offensive systems officer and defensive systems officer)
Armament: Three internal weapons bays can accommodate up to 84 Mk-82 general purpose bombs or Mk-62 naval mines, 30 CBU-87/89 cluster munitions or CBU-97 Sensor Fused Weapons and up to 24 GBU-31 JDAM GPS guided bombs or Mk-84 general purpose bombs
Date Deployed: June 1985
Unit Cost: $200-plus million per aircraft
Inventory: Active force, 51 primary mission aircraft inventory (72 actual), 2 (test); ANG, 18 PMAI (20 actual); Reserve, 0

[Blood of Tyrants]

The Taliban will be claiming that they brought it down with small arms fire.

[VRWC_minion]

Darn it... Well, time will tell it this was the result of enemy fire

If its the fuel tank or if the tail fell off I for one would be a wee bit wary of their reports.

[Walkin Man]

Yes, prayer for the aircrew on the way.

[Oldeconomybuyer]

[monkeyshine]

Prayers for the crew! God Bless America and those who defend her.

[LoneGOPinCT]

Not good. Let's hope the crew is ok.

[Rebelbase]

Indian Ocean Sattelite imagery.

The weather is looking good for rescue.

[dead]

Hope the crew bailed safely.

We just installed a $200 million dollar reef in the Indian Ocean.

[eureka!]

What you said.

[Ryeoc]

my brother has been flying alot of refueling missions out of there ......... Unfortunately , when you consider the number of flights made so far in this war , we were due for a mechanical malfunction (which I'm guessing is the cause) . If mechanical then hopefully crew had time to bail and if close to Garcia they should be rescued .

[Walkin Man]

B-1 uses nap-of-the-earth flight. Perhaps they got to close to the waves.

Could be but I believe the General said they were refueling or a Tanker AC was in the area at the time so it could be a air to air refueling accident. Will have to wait for more details.

[Lokibob]

Prayers for the crew.

B-1 is the prettiest plane in the world. Man, it looks like it is flying 600MPH as it sits on the ground. When those wings sweep back, it is super sleek. B-2 is the ugliest plane in the world, Nuff said.

[Lazamataz]

B-1 BOMBER LOST IN THE INDIAN OCEAN!!

That is not good....

[Rebelbase]

Weather at Diego Garcia.

[strela]

Actually, the Brits are the ones who "installed" it (kind of). Diego Garcia is known as British Indian Ocean Territory - they hold the pink slip.

[chance33_98]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. Air Force B-1 bomber went down in the Indian Ocean on Wednesday, but there were no initial reports of any casualties, the Pentagon said.

"At approximately 11:30 EST today, an Air Force B-1 bomber went down in the Indian Ocean, approximately 30 miles north of Diego Garcia," Pentagon spokeswoman Victoria Clarke said. "There were no known casualties, rescue efforts are under way and we have no indications as to the cause," she told a media briefing.

[Rebelbase]

"We just installed a $200 million dollar reef in the Indian Ocean"

I thought those planes were closer to 1 Billion dollars each?

[Molly Pitcher]

FYI!

[Molly Pitcher]

FYI!

[homeschool mama]

ping

[dead]

Actually, the Brits are the ones who "installed" it (kind of).

I was talking about the plane, that was probably worth more than Diego Garcia.

[Glock19C]

That's the B-2.

[strela]

Unless Diego Garcia has changed a lot since 1978 when I was stationed there, its a 26 mile by 1 mile strip with a good airstrip, coral sand, tedium, and no women.

[Walkin Man]

my brother has been flying alot of refueling missions out of there

From the little the General said about it, it seems like it could have involved refueling but they are giving no details yet. I hope your bro is safe.

[Vets_Husband_and_Wife]

Our prayers are for the crew of our B1. This kind of news makes me physically ill. God Bless them and their families. I know there are a lot of B1 Crew families watching this news with a sinking gut feeling, and broken hearts. Our prayers go to them too. We wait with them.. Praying for the best, and fearing the worst. Our hearts are in our throats.

[b4its2late]

We just installed a $200 million dollar reef in the Indian Ocean.

Hope the crew is safe and hope they were transporting bin Laden to an undisclosed location....

[strela]

I was talking about the plane, that was probably worth more than Diego Garcia.

Ayup, you're right (on both counts). I misread your post.

[Jerry_M]

Fox News website states that the plane is down 30 miles north of Diego Garcia. If so, then this should be a quick, easy, rescue mission for survivors.

[July 4th]

B-1 is the prettiest plane in the world. Man, it looks like it is flying 600MPH as it sits on the ground.

Got that right. It's too bad the ugly ones end up being the most effective.

There was a B-1 at the Chicago Air Show in the summer of 2000. The show was on the weekend, but during the week, the planes would practice over the city. (The Blue Angels skimmed buildings during the work day...very cool.) Anyhow, when the B-1 showed up, it came screaming in over the city, just cleared the John Hancock building, and banked out over Lake Michigan...and let out the loudest roar I had ever heard from a plane. It was gone in a few seconds. In my opinion, it was just as cool as the Blue Angels.

They can probably never do that again though. The people in the JH building probably thought the building was coming apart.

[AnalogReigns]

Fox story HERE

[Oldeconomybuyer]

10:16 PST (AP) -- "There are no known casualties. Rescue efforts are under way," Clarke said in a press conference with Gen. Peter Pace, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

"It is possible to eject from the B-1 bomber," said Pace.

He said the plane has a crew of four.

[suni]

FYI

[classygreeneyedblonde]

prayers for the crew

[Walkin Man]

The weather is looking good for rescue.

Good news, I hope luck and the Lord are with the Para Rescue USAF troops and the aircrew.

[MindBender26]

Thank God, 30 min into incident, no FReeper has posted that this is part of some grand conspiracy!

[Vets_Husband_and_Wife]

Perhaps they got to close to the waves.

No, those pilots are so good at what they do, NOE is like a walk in the park for them. They wouldn't "hit" a wave. The biggest danger of NOE is engine failure etc. Then it wouldn't have been from pilot error, but mechanical. Not much time to correct a problem.

But actually, who knows right now? All I know is that American servicemen/women have crashed.

Prayers that somehow they survived it.

[elhombrelibre]

Malfunction of some kind sounds right, especially based on location and the fact that probably only one or two countries could shoot it down.

[MindBender26]

....and prayers for crew dogs.

[Oldeconomybuyer]

Bomber down in Indian Ocean

• The Pentagon says a B-1 bomber has gone down in the Indian Ocean
• Rescue workers on the scene, no word on crew's fate

[Vets_Husband_and_Wife]

Thanks for the photos!