Tuesday, March 27, 2001

By Kimberly Mielcarek, Stars and Stripes

Two pilots reportedly died when their U.S. Army RC-12K aircraft crashed Tuesday in a forest near Schwabach, Germany, about eight miles southwest of Nuremburg, according to military officials.

The plane, from the 1st Military Battalion, 205th Military Intelligence Brigade, in Wiesbaden, reportedly was on a routine training mission when it crashed at about 4 p.m.

The twin-propeller aircraft carried only the two pilots and no ammunition, said Hilde Patton, a V Corps spokeswoman.

Two Pentagon officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the two people on board were killed as the plane tried to reach the Nuremberg airport. V Corps could not confirm if the air crew died.

"Right now we are just looking at the accident [to see] if we do have any people who died in the aircraft," Patton said. "It’s always terrible for the Corps to lose soldiers that way."

The plane was on Nuremberg approach control radar when it went down, Patton said. The German state police were the first on the scene, followed by the U.S. Army Europe Aviation Safety team.

The $6.3 million RC-12K is a twin-propeller plane used to detect, identify and locate enemy sources of communication, radar and other electronic signals. It carries $5.9 million in equipment for its reconnaissance missions.

The last accident in Europe for this type of plane was on Nov. 6, 1998 in Sommerhausen, Germany, Patton said. That plane crash killed the pilot and copilot, both were from the 1st Military Intelligence Battalion. An Army crash investigation team could not determine the cause of the crash.

The investigation report from that accident recommended:

• The Army Materiel Command investigate the RC-12 engine. The board reported that there were 16 engine surges in a 13-month timeframe — which could cause the plane to lose power.

• Limit specific tasks that pilots conduct within the aircraft, such as stalls and recoveries.

• Install flight data recorders and cockpit voice recorders in the Army’s planes and helicopters.

• Relocate the battalion standardization officer to battalion headquarters from company flight operations.

Public affairs officials were unable to answer whether any of the recommendations had been put into effect.

The USAREUR Aviation Safety team will lead the investigation, along with members of the Army Aviation Center in Fort Rucker, Ala., Patton said.

Two members from the Army Safety Center will head to the crash site, said Jane Wise, a spokeswoman at Fort Rucker. The team will also use additional aviation experts.

Investigators will examine plane maintenance as well as look into any other factors that could have contributed to the accident.

"There is no time limit to the investigation," Wise said. "They will be there [at the site] as long as necessary."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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