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U.S. loses first Osprey in Afghanistan; 4 dead

KABUL, Afghanistan - A U.S. Air Force Osprey went down in southeastern Afghanistan, the U.S. military said Friday, killing three service members and one civilian contractor in the first crash of the costly tilt-rotor aircraft in a combat zone.

It's unclear what caused the crash of the U.S. military's latest generation transport aircraft, which was beset for years by cost overruns and design flaws.

A NATO statement said "numerous other service members" were injured when the aircraft, which takes off and lands like a helicopter, crashed late Thursday 7 miles from Qalat, capital of Zabul province and about 200 miles southwest of Kabul.

A Taliban spokesman said militants shot down the aircraft, but the insurgents often make exaggerated claims. NATO said the cause was still under investigation. A Pentagon spokesman, Marine Maj. Shawn Turner, said it was the first time that an Osprey, which cost nearly $70 million apiece, has crashed during operations in a war zone.

In 2000, 19 Marines were killed when an Osprey crashed during a training exercise in southern Arizona.

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