American Pilot Missing in Iraq UPDATED

A United States Air Force F-16C fighter jet crashes in Iraq approximately 20 miles northwest of Baghdad at about 1:35 p.m. this past Monday. The pilot of that aircraft is missing. According to CentCom, 'the single-seat jet was in direct support of extensive coalition ground combat operations when it crashed in an uninhabited field. The aircraft carried one pilot who has been classified as "duty status and whereabouts unknown," said Maj. Gen. William Caldwell.

Coalition reconnaissance assets and fighter aircraft were overhead when the crash occurred and confirmed that insurgents were in the vicinity of the crash site immediately following the crash.

Ground forces secured the crash scene Monday as soon as the extensive ground combat operations in the area had ceased. The primary concerns of USCENTAF in responding to this incident have been the safety of Coalition forces and the recovery of the pilot. The pilot was not found at the crash site and his status cannot be confirmed at this time. The investigation board has collected DNA samples from the crash site and will release results upon completion of testing.

As usual the terrorist just happened to have a video camera to record the crash and Al-Jazeera, the Middle East-based television news network, has aired video showing what it said was the smoldering wreckage of the F-16, shows pieces of the aircraft including the tail which displays the aircraft's number and an "Air Combat Command" logo.

The body of the pilot just 'disappeared from the crash site before an American armoured column arrived on the scene' and the film was 'taken by a local journalist' who just happened to be at the scene.

UPDATE via Cop the Truth:

However, A(WT)P TV News shows video with a body, presumably the pilot, tangled in a parachute nearby (video). It's interesting to note that AL Jazeera also showed video of the crash site, but refused to show the pictures of the body, saying the images were "too graphic to air". That should give you a hint about the AP's reporting in Iraq. source.

Related reading:
More of the same, Biga's Rants
Don't trust the MSM when it comes to Iraq, Cop the Truth
The Consequences of Inadequate Force Projection, The Captain's Journal
The media fog of war, Michelle Malkin
America is in a Civil War, Right Here at Home!, Webloggin via Big Dog