This is the most rediculous situation yet... especially the fact that all CNN cares about is some actors murder arrest (OJ anybody?). Today, Canadian soldiers killed by friendly bombs.
Mideast violence.
Train Derails in Florida.
Plane crashes into milan, Italy\'s tallest tower, killing innocents.
Here at CNN, however, the news is some jerks murder arrest.
The worst thing about this FF incident is that the plane was near the capital, in a friendly zone, where planes AREN\'T supposed to be on active patrol, and he bombed targets on the ground at night, with neither a visual nor radio confirmation of a target. If your in an F16 and you are suddenly attacked by handrifles at night, you radio it in and leave. Antiaircraft at night? Possibly drop a bomb, for sure radio that in. G-A missles at night, from a friendly zone? Get the hell outta dodge (cause there may be a lot more comin\' your way).
Edit:
Yeah, three killed, 60 injured... no Americans. It\'s not news.
Edit (again):
As taken from a Canadian News Source:
In Washington, Pentagon officials said it appeared the pilot did not know he was flying over an area restricted to training, and muzzle flashes from the exercise below made him think he was under attack.
The pilot sought permission to bomb and was told to mark the target but not fire, a senior Pentagon official said. On a second fly-around, after reporting he was taking ground fire, he dropped the bomb in what he thought was self-defence.
How can a plane with millions of dollars in guidance equipment, and being directed by AWACS, and ground radar operators not know where it is?
How can a high flying F16 be \'under attack\' from handheld ground weapons (which weren\'t pointing up or shooting rounds upwards) at a distance at night where all he can see are muzzle flashes? (If it had been AA guns, he would see the results of shells exploding in the air and brighter flashes; missles, contrails visible at night, explosions, radar lock warnings)
I think it\'s probably going to come out that this pilot got overzealous and made a stupid assumption/justification to fire.