Posted on: Tuesday, November 30, 2004

Three Schofield soldiers aboard missing plane in Afghanistan

By Curtis Lum
Advertiser Staff Writer

A plane in Afghanistan carrying six Americans, including three Schofield Barracks soldiers, has been missing since Saturday. Coalition forces were to continue the search today, the Army said.

The CASA 212 aircraft departed Bagram Airfield but did not arrive at its destination and was reported missing Saturday, the Army said. The Army did not say where the aircraft was headed.

Three Schofield Barracks soldiers and three civilian crew members were aboard the aircraft, the Army said. Signals from an emergency transmitter led coalition personnel to focus the search-and-rescue effort in a mountainous region in Central Afghanistan.

The search is being conducted by ground and from the air. The names of the crew members and soldiers were not released yesterday.

The U.S. Air Force contracted the Spanish-built CASA 212 to transport troops and equipment throughout Afghanistan. The twin-engine aircraft is designed to operate in areas that lack infrastructure, such as paved runways.

Schofield Barracks has 5,800 soldiers in Afghanistan.