06/27/2002
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U.S. military plane crashes in France, pilot killed

PARIS (AP) — A US Air Force A10 on a training mission crashed Thursday in a forest in eastern France, killing the pilot, the Air Force said.

The plane, a single-seat anti-tank "Warthog," crashed just before 3 p.m. near the villages of Domptail and Saint-Pierremont, south of the city of Nancy, French authorities said. The area is about 190 miles east of Paris.

The pilot was killed, but his name and nationality were being withheld until relatives are notified, said Staff Sgt. Cindy York of the US Air Force in Spangdahlem, Germany. The pilot was based at Spangdahlem, with the 52nd Fighter Wing's 81st Fighter Squadron, she said.

The Air Force appointed a board of officials to investigate the crash.

The plane was not carrying live or depleted-uranium munitions, the Air Force said.

Nicknamed the "Warthog" for its ungainly appearance, the slow, heavily armored A10 is designed for close support of ground troops.