U.S. pilot safely ejects from A-29 Super Tucano in Afghanistan crash

An Afghan light attack plane crashed in northern Afghanistan, with its U.S. Air Force pilot safely ejecting before the crash, U.S. and Afghan officials said.

The plane, an A-29 Super Toscano, was on a training exercise on Thursday in Baghlan province when the incident occurred. The pilot's name was not released, and it is unclear if a second person was aboard the two-seat plane, according to reports.

Preliminary reports from United States Forces Afghanistan indicated that a mechanical issue was the cause of the crash. Support aircraft arrived quickly in the remote valley where the plane crashed to rescue the pilot.

The plane was assigned to the Kabul Air Wing, based in Kabul.

The A-29 is made jointly by Brazilian company Embraer and U.S. company Sierra Nevada Corp.

The propeller-driven plane is the main light attack aircraft of the Afghan Air Force, which owns 25, according to a July report to Congress from the Pentagon. The plane has minimal armament, including a .50 caliber machine gun, but is capable of dropping laser-guided bombs.

Training of Afghan pilots took place at Moody Air Force Base in Georgia until 2019, when it was moved to Afghanistan.

Related Links
Aerospace News at SpaceMart.com

Tweet

Thanks for being there;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.

SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5+ Billed Monthly

paypal only

SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once

credit card or paypal

Lawmakers urge Pentagon to stop buying F-35 parts from Turkey
Washington DC (UPI) Jul 07, 2020
A bipartisan group of lawmakers sent a letter to Defense Secretary Mark Esper this week asking the Pentagon to more quickly end its F-35 partnership with Turkey. Sens. James Lankford, R-Okla., Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., Thom Tillis-R-N.C., and Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., wrote that the Pentagon's plans to continue buying F-35 parts into 2022 hampers the United States' ability to put pressure on the country over its ties to Russia. "As you know, we have worked together in the Senate on issues o ... read more