An American pilot died after his plane crashed while returning to its base in the United Arab Emirates yesterday.
The U-2 spy plane crashed in the Emirates while approaching the base to land, said a Pentagon official, adding it was too soon to say why it crashed.
The US military did not immediately release the location or circumstances of the crash because it did not want to create problems for the nation where the plane went down. Officials also withheld the name of the pilot pending notification of relatives.
According to the military, the crash happened early yesterday morning in the United Arab Emirates.
The U-2 is a single-seat, single-engine reconnaissance plane that operates at an altitude of more than 70,000 feet .
Flying beyond the range of most surface-to-air missiles - the pilot must wear a full pressure suit similar to those used by astronauts. A U-2 was famously shot down in 1960 over the Soviet Union.