AFGHANISTAN/ UK : Officals, reacting to UK military plane crash in Afghanistan which killed 14, blame crash on a technical fault, rather than insurgent attack

A British reconnaissance plane crashed in Afghanistan on Saturday (September 2) killing 14 military personnel in Britain's worst single loss in five years in the country, British and NATO officials said. The Royal Air Force (RAF) Nimrod MR2 aircraft was supporting the NATO mission in the country when it went down, apparently due to a technical problem, in the southern province of Kandahar. "They were not strictly speaking ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) troops, but they were troops serving on an aircraft that was on an ISAF, supporting an ISAF mission," said Major Luke Knittig ISAF in a news conference in Kabul on Sunday (September 3) The British Ministry of Defence made the announcement on Saturday, hours after the plane crashed. "There are sadly are no reported survivors. All 14 crew aboard the aircraft have died. Causality notification... notification of the families is complete as we understand it from the British Ministry of Defence," said Knittig. He said the dead included 12 Royal Air Force personnel, a Royal Marine and an army soldier. The plane was based at RAF Kinloss air force base in Scotland. The crash is the biggest single loss of British troops in Afghanistan or Iraq since the war on terror began in November 2001. Knittig said the recovery operation was still going on at the site of crash "Information reported from the crew and the ongoing investigation action, pardon me, ongoing investigation rule out, let me repeat, rule out hostile action. Recovery operations at the site continue," said ISAF's Luke Knttig. At a military news conference at RAF (Royal Air Force) base in Kinloss, Scotland on Sunday (September 3) RAF Wing Commander Martin Cannard told reporters, "120 Squadron has suffered a profound loss. We have lost good friends and colleagues, many known personally to us over many years. I have been humbled by the commitment and determination of all of my people to do all that they can for those who have lost loved ones and friends and this will be our sole focus in the coming days." Britain's Ministry of Defence said a board of inquiry had been set up to probe the cause of the crash. RAF station commander, Group Captain Chris Birks said the Nato Nimrod MR2 from RAF Kinloss is thought to have suffered a technical fault 12 miles south of Kandahar. "All the indications are at this stage that it was a technical fault and all my questions will be answered in the fullness of time from the board of inquiry," Group Captain Chris Birks said. The RAF's Nimrod planes carry sophisticated reconnaissance and communications equipment enabling them to relay messages from troops on the ground. British Defence Secretary Des Browne confirmed Birks's comments, saying: "All the indications from the event, the communication with the aircraft itself and from others' observations, suggest to us quite clearly that this - eh, the loss of this aircraft, the devastating loss of this aircraft was the result of a technical fault. The nature, of course, of that technical fault it would not be helpful to go into at this stage." The crash comes at a time when the Taliban and other insurgent and criminal groups have stepped up attacks on Afghan and foreign forces, plunging the country into its bloodiest period since the Taliban were toppled in late 2001. The crash brings to 36 the number of British forces personnel who have died while serving in Afghanistan since November 2001.

ITN Source | September 3, 2006

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