US Airmen Respond to Downed Airliner

Aug. 26, 2008

US Air Force personnel from Manas AB, Kyrgyzstan, were among the first on the scene when a Kyrgyz 737 airliner crashed Aug. 24 shortly after takeoff from the Manas International Airport. Kyrgyz officials notified USAF leaders of the 376th Air Expeditionary Wing, which sent two fire trucks, an ambulance, and about two dozen medical and emergency response personnel to the crash site. Other Air Force medics stood by at the airport to assist with the injured. According to an Associated Press news service report, the crash killed 65 of the 90 passengers. (Manas AB report by Maj. Damien Pickart)

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