The F-16CG jet that crashed was supporting coalition ground forces when it went down at about 1:35 p.m. in Anbar province, about 20 miles northwest of Baghdad, the military said in a brief statement. The statement had no information about the suspected cause of the crash or the fate of the pilot.
Mohammed Al-Obeidi, an Iraqi who lives in the nearby town of Karmah, said by telephone that he saw the jet flying up and down erratically before it nose-dived and exploded in a farm field. He said other U.S. warplanes rushed to the crash site and were circling around it.
Maj. Gen. William Caldwell, a U.S. military’s spokesman, said he doubted the jet was shot down because F-16s fly very fast and have not encountered weapons in Iraq that are capable of taking them down.
Al-Jazeera satellite television showed videotape pictures of the wreckage in a field and what looked to be portions of a tangled parachute nearby. The broadcaster said the video included scenes of the dead pilot but that they were too graphic to air.
One shot showed what appeared to be the tail number and included the letters CG. The jet that crashed was an F-16-CG, the military said. Another segment showed an Air Force seal that said Air Combat Command.
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November 28, 2006 at 7:40 am