DENVER - Several pieces of metal protruding from the snow high in the Rocky Mountains are "likely" to be pieces of a US warplane that disappeared 18 days ago during a routine training mission, an Air Force official said yesterday.
Maj-Gen Nels Running told a press briefing the pieces appeared to be from the plane's interior. The A-10 Thunderbolt disappeared during a routine training mission on April 2nd. Air Force officials have been at a loss to explain why Capt Craig Button (32) left the mission and apparently veered northeast into Colorado, some 850 miles (1,350 km) away.
Maj-Gen Running said it was not possible to tell if Button could have survived the crash. He also noted that bad weather, including high winds, would make it difficult to send ground troops to the very remote area.