Ike sailor was struck by Super Hornet

By Andrew Scutro - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Oct 8, 2008 15:29:44 EDT
NORFOLK, Va. — The sailor killed Saturday night aboard the aircraft carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower was struck by an F/A-18F Super Hornet on the flight deck “during catapult launch,” according to the Naval Safety Center’s online mishap log.

Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Aircraft Handling) 2nd Class (AW) Robert Lemar Robinson, 31, of Detroit, was killed. The matter remains under investigation according to 2nd Fleet spokeswoman Lt. Courtney Hillson. She said the ship remains at sea.

Hillson said Robinson was killed during flight operations off the coast of Cherry Point, N.C.

Robinson leaves behind three children. He joined the Navy on Sept. 24, 1998. He previously served aboard the aircraft carrier Enterprise.

U.S.: 43 militants killed in Afghanistan

U.S.: 43 militants killed in Afghanistan
By Fisnik Abrashi - The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Oct 8, 2008 6:17:41 EDT
KABUL, Afghanistan — U.S. and Afghan troops clashed and called airstrikes on a group of insurgents in southern Afghanistan, killing 43 militants, the U.S. military said Tuesday.

The militants ambushed the U.S.-Afghan force with sniper fire and rocket-propelled grenades in Qalat district of Zabul province Sunday, a statement from the U.S. military said.

The joint force fought back and called in airstrikes that killed the militants, it said.

A civilian, working as a contractor for the U.S. military, was wounded in the operation. There were no casualties among Afghan and U.S. troops.

Southern Afghanistan is the center of the Taliban-led insurgency. More than 4,700 people — mostly militants — have died so far this year in insurgency-related violence.

An unprecedented number of U.S. troops — about 32,000 — are in Afghanistan today, and the Pentagon plans to send several thousand more forces in the coming months. At least 131 U.S. troops have died in Afghanistan this year, as have 100 troops from other NATO nations.

Some of those U.S. and NATO troops work alongside Afghan army and police, mentoring and training the fledgling forces, as they take on the Taliban and other militants in daily battles across the country.

Update: Pentagon Says Iranians Forced Down Biz Jet

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- The U.S. military coalition in Iraq confirmed Tuesday that a business jet -- not a U.S. military aircraft -- was recently forced down in Iran due to an airspace violation.

"The airplane is now being confirmed as a light transport plane with no Americans onboard," Multi-National Forces-Iraq said in a statement issued Tuesday. "From what we have been seeing, it was a Falcon business jet. We have accounted for all our aircraft and none are missing."

The U.S. coalition in Iraq had no information on who owned the aircraft, stressing that it was not a registered American plane.

Iran's semi-official Fars News Agency initially reported that five American military officials were on board the U.S. aircraft. But other Iranian media reports -- quoting Iranian officials -- said the aircraft was Hungarian and no Americans were on the plane.

Iranian officials told Iran's state-run Arabic language channel Al-Alam that the incident happened a week ago and that the plane was carrying humanitarian workers.

Fars later changed its Farsi language report, citing other Iranian and Arab media as saying the plane was not an American aircraft

Fars also initially reported that aircraft, which it called a "Falcon fighter," entered Iranian airspace at a low altitude from Turkey to avoid radar detection, despite repeated warnings by the Islamic Republic Air Force. It said the plane also carried three civilians.

Washington is monitoring the reports, but White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said "as far as we know (they are) totally bogus."

U.S. National Security Council Spokesman Gordon Johndroe also said there is no indication that the reports are accurate.

"We're looking into the various and conflicting reports coming from the Iranian 'news' agencies, but do not have any information at this time that would lead us to believe they are correct," he said.

Fars said the aircraft, which was en route to Afghanistan, was forced to land at an Iranian airport that it did not name. Fars reported that the eight people aboard were released "after daylong interrogations" that revealed the aircraft had "unintentionally" violated Iran's airspace.

Fars said the aircraft was later allowed to continue on to Afghanistan.

Two top U.S. military officials told CNN's Barbara Starr that no U.S. military aircraft has been forced down. The U.S. military has an F-16 Fighting Falcon, but it is a one-seat jet fighter aircraft that is used by the U.S. Air Force for air-to-air and air-to-ground combat.

Editors note: In any event this "incident" will help Pentagon intelligence analysts ascertain Iranian Air Force intercept capabilities.

Navy identifies sailor killed aboard Ike

Navy identifies sailor killed aboard Ike
By Andrew Scutro - Staff writer Navy Times

Posted : Tuesday Oct 7, 2008 16:33:40 EDT
NORFOLK, Va. — The Navy identified the sailor killed Saturday night aboard the aircraft carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Aircraft Handling) 2nd Class (AW) Robert Lemar Robinson, 31, of Detroit, was killed during launch operations, 2nd Fleet spokeswoman Lt. Courtney Hillson said. A news release said the sailor “was hit by a plane and died.”

Hillson said the sailor was killed during the “launch phase” on the flight deck Oct. 4, off the coast of Cherry Point, N.C.

She confirmed that Robinson was hit by a launching aircraft.

Robinson leaves behind three children. An investigation is underway.

Mecury: Up Close

MESSENGER Returns Images from Oct. 6 Mercury Fly-By

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington
> Larger image MESSENGER is the first mission sent to orbit the planet closest to the sun. On Oct. 6, 2008, at roughly 4:40 a.m. ET, MESSENGER flew by Mercury for the second time this year. During the encounter, the probe swung just 125 miles (200 kilometers) above the cratered surface of Mercury, snapping hundreds of pictures and collecting a variety of other data from the planet as it gains a critical gravity assist that keeps the probe on track to become the first spacecraft ever to orbit the innermost planet beginning in March 2011.

At roughly 1:50 a.m. ET on October 7, MESSENGER's most recent images began to be received back on Earth. The spectacular image shown here is one of the first to be returned. It shows Mercury about 90 minutes after the spacecraft’s closest approach. The bright crater just south of the center of the image is Kuiper, identified on images from the Mariner 10 mission in the 1970s. For most of the terrain east of Kuiper, toward the limb (edge) of the planet, the departing images are the first spacecraft views of that portion of Mercury’s surface. A striking characteristic of this newly imaged area is the large pattern of rays that extend from the northern region of Mercury to regions south of Kuiper.