US military plane crashes in Djibouti

An American reconnaissance plane crashed 6 miles from the only U.S. base in Africa, killing four service members on board, after returning from a mission in support of the war in Afghanistan, the military said Monday, reported AP.

The crash occurred at about 8 p.m. Saturday in Djibouti. U.S. personnel from Camp Lemonnier in the tiny Horn of Africa nation responded to the scene.

Initial indications are that the plane did not crash because of hostile fire, reported the military. The plane was conducting an intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance mission, he said. A statement from U.S. Africa Command called it a "routine" flight.

The single-engine, fixed-wing U-28A was returning from a mission in support of the Afghanistan war.

The cause of the crash is under investigation. Camp Lemonnier lies just a few miles from the border with Somalia.

Camp Lemonnier is the base for the U.S. Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa, which has played a role in counter-terrorism and counter-piracy operations, according to Voice of America.

The four men killed were all U.S. Air Force personnel from the Hulburt Field base in Florida. 

The four killed in the crash were: Capt. Ryan P. Hall, 30, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, with the 319th Special Operations Squadron; Capt. Nicholas S. Whitlock, 29, of Newnan, Georgia, with the 34th Special Operations Squadron; 1st Lt. Justin J. Wilkens, 26, of Bend, Oregon, with the 34th Special Operations Squadron; and Senior Airman Julian S. Scholten, 26, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, with the 25th Intelligence Squadron.

Hall was a U-28 pilot with more than 1,300 combat flight hours. He was assigned to the 319th Special Operations Squadron at Hurlburt Field, Fla.

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