American forces on Tuesday recovered what is believed to be the flight data recorder from a Bombardier E-11A aircraft that crashed in Ghazni province, Afghanistan, a day earlier, U.S. Forces–Afghanistan said in a release.
The official statement also confirmed reports from earlier in the day that the remains of two personnel had been recovered from the site of the crash.
“The remains were found near the crash site, treated with dignity and respect by the local Afghan community, in accordance with their culture,” U.S. Forces-Afghanistan said.
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The cause of the crash is still being investigated, the release said, though there are no indications the communications plane was brought down by enemy fire.
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The remnants of the plane, which was one of just four E-11As in the Air Force’s fleet, were destroyed by U.S. forces for security reasons.
The Defense Department is withholding the names of service members until 24 hours after their next of kin have been notified, as is the military’s standard policy.
Stephen Losey is the air warfare reporter for Defense News. He previously covered leadership and personnel issues at Air Force Times, and the Pentagon, special operations and air warfare at Military.com. He has traveled to the Middle East to cover U.S. Air Force operations.
