DENVER - The US Air Force is investigating the possibility that the pilot of a Thunderbolt fighter aircraft which went missing in broad daylight more than a week ago has committed suicide.
Pentagon officials said yesterday that Capt Craig Button (32) was apparently distraught after his parents visited him at his base in Arizona last month.
The pilot disappeared with his warplane while on a bombing practice mission over Arizona on April 2nd. One minute he was flying in formation with other aircraft, then his A-10 Thunderbolt, carrying four 500 lb bombs, disappeared.
Investigators believe the aircraft turned full circle and flew 1,280 kms in the opposite direction before crashing into a mountain in Colorado. An Air Force spokesman said a new radar signature had been found showing what they believe is the missing aircraft in a mountain region 20 kms from the assumed crash site on New York Mountain, Colorado.
Earlier this week, Capt Button's parents said: "He was well balanced and happy." His father added: " The only problem in his life is trying to find the perfect woman . . . I told him he wouldn't find one." The air and land search in the Rockies had to be abandoned yesterday because of heavy snow.