Along with every other news outlet this morning, Reuters reported: "A U.S. Air Force F-15E crashed in Libya overnight." Mechanical failure is the reported cause. The crew safely ejected and was quickly rescued. To say that this story was "trumpeted" worldwide is an understatement. The story and the glossy photos of the wreckage were splashed across newspaper websites and on cable TV as if it were the Normandy Landings of World War II. The news must have some special meaning, right? Wrong. Military aircraft occasionally fall to Earth and crash.
Last year alone saw 68 military aircraft crashes due to mechanical failure or pilot error. Sixteen involved U.S. planes. Crashes are not routine. But they happen, in war and peace. Too bad this context is lost as "collateral damage" from a news media to busy hyping the facts rather than just reporting them.
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