SPY PLANE CRASH

A US Air Force U-2 spy plane has crashed in south-west Asia killing the pilot... the pilot was returning to base after completing a mission in support of US forces in Afghanistan.... Correspondents say south-west Asia is a phrase often used by the US military to refer to the Middle East... "The specific location is not releasable due to host nation sensitivities"... The pilot's unit - the 380th Expeditionary Wing - is based at the Al-Dhafra air base, near Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates...."

"... The long, thin plane, with a wing-span of 100 feet (30.5m) is able to cruise at 90,000ft (27,430m) - more than 17 miles (27km) up - so high that the pilot has to wear a spacesuit."

(Not likely that such a flight was need to look at US-controlled Afghanistan. More likely it was to spy on Iran which is between the UAE and Afghanistan.)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4119344.stm