U.S. Military Plane Crashes Off Kenya; 1 Killed, 10 Missing

MOGADISHU, Somalia — An American AC-130 aerial gunship crashed into the Indian Ocean off Kenya on Monday, killing one crewman and leaving 10 missing.

Three other crew members were plucked from the water by rescuers, said Army Col. Steve Rausch. Kenyan divers and fishing boats, as well as several U.S. aircraft, were continuing the search.

The plane had taken off from Mombasa, Kenya, and was on its way to Somalia “to conduct a routine mission” in support of U.S. forces there, said a Pentagon spokesman, Cmdr. Joe Gradisher, in Washington. There were no indications that the plane went down due to hostile fire.

Rausch said the crash would be investigated but that it appears to have resulted from a malfunction.

The AC-130 is a heavily armed version of the four-engine C-130 cargo plane, one of the workhorses of the U.S. military.

Four AC-130s have been operating since June from Kenya’s port city of Mombasa. Kenya borders Somalia to the southwest and has long served as a base for both U.S. military and humanitarian efforts aimed at Somalia.

In another development, Rausch said two 60-millimeter mortar shells exploded Monday evening near Mogadishu’s seaport, where 320 U.S. soldiers were awaiting shipment to Mombasa. Neither shell caused any injuries.

The U.S. withdrawal from Somalia is due to be completed by the end of the month.