Birmingham Post-Herald April 06, 2005
Birmingham airman, 32, dies in crash in Albania
By Andrew Nelson
A Birmingham airman was killed last week when the U.S. Air Force plane he was in crashed inAlbania, military officials said. First Lt. Ray C. Owens Jr. was one of nine killed in an MC-130 Combat Talon II crash Thursday night, according to a report from the U.S. military's Special Operations Command in Europe.
Owens and his crew were supporting a joint training mission with the Albanian military, the report stated.
The plane crashed near the remote village of Rovie, in the Drizez Mountains, 60 miles southeast of the capital of Tirana. No one on board survived, said Albanian army Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Pellumb Qazimi.
The dead airmen were assigned to the 7th Special Operations Squadron at Royal Air Force Mildenhall in the United Kingdom, according to the report.
Further information on Owens, 32, was not available Tuesday. A family member reached Tuesday night declined to comment. Attempts to reach Air Force public relations at RAF Mildenhall were not successful.
A board of officers is investigating the crash, the report showed.
According to the Air Force Web site, the MC-130 Combat Talon II infiltrates, extracts and resupplies Special Operations forces in hostile territory. Other missions include psychological operations and helicopter air refueling.
In 2000, the 7th Special Operations Squadron participated in 12 exercises with 15 foreign military units in 10 countries. It has been stationed at RAF Mildenhall since 1995, according to the Web site GlobalSecurity.org.
Albania is seeking membership in NATO and has close ties to the U.S. military. It backed the U.S.-led campaign in Iraq, where it has deployed a small unit of 71 troops. Albania also has peacekeeping contingents in Afghanistan and in nearby Bosnia.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
© Copyright 2005, Birmingham Post Co.
