Here’s the result of an Air Force investigation:
A solid plastic case designed to hold a set of night-vision goggles was ultimately responsible for causing the crash of an Air Force transport plane that killed 14 people in October, the Air Force announced in a statement last week.
This is obviously a tragedy, all the more so for having such a trivial cause. But what’s interesting is what came next:
Twenty-eight seconds after takeoff, 14 people, including the four crew members, two Air Force security personnel and five civilian contractors aboard, were dead. The Taliban quickly claimed responsibility for the crash, saying it shot down the aircraft.
I often wonder how many claims of this nature are actually true. Many of them are, obviously. But it’s pretty easy to claim responsibility for just about anything, and it’s good PR to take credit for killing a bunch of Americans. Maybe too easy.
