VOA常速英语2008年-US Stealth Bomber Crashes in Guam

U.S. military officers say two air force pilots are safe after their B-2 Stealth Bomber¹ crashed on the island of Guam. VOA's Kurt Achin is monitoring the situation from Seoul and has this report.

The crash occurred Saturday morning local time as the B-2 Stealth bomber was taking off from Andersen Air Force base on Guam, a U.S. territory that lies south of Japan.

U.S. Technical Sergeant² Tom Czerwinski, of the U.S. Pacific Air Force Public Affairs office in Hawaii, says no lives were lost.

"The cause of crash is unknown, pending³ an investigation," he said. "The pilots had ejected safely - no serious injuries. One is mobile, one is still in the hospital under observation."

A board of investigators⁴ is being assembled to evaluate the incident. U.S. officials speculate some preliminary information may be available within 30 days.

This is the first crash of a B-2, a $1.2 billion aircraft which uses highly advanced materials and technology to evade⁵ radar⁶. It was first deployed⁷ in combat in the 1990s Balkan conflict, and later in U.S.-led actions in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The United States has 21 of the bombers⁸, which it rotates through theaters around the world, including here in South Korea, where the United States maintains 28,000 forces to deter⁹ potential aggression¹⁰ from North Korea.

This is the second U.S. Air Force accident in several days. On Wednesday, a U.S. fighter pilot was killed in a collision during a combat training exercise over the Gulf¹¹ of Mexico.