American Notes AIR FORCE

The B-1B bomber is designed to deliver its deadly cargo at low altitude, following the contours of the ground to avoid being detected by radar. But last week the controversialplane proved vulnerable to a natural enemy when a B-1B crashed after running into a flock of birds.

The plane was on a simulated bombing run at the Air Force's training range near La Junta, Colo., when the pilot reported that a "bird ingestion" had caused fires in two of the craft's engines. The plane immediately climbed to 15,500 ft., presumably to give the crew time to jump, before crashing. The pilot's final, terse transmission: "We're going down." Three of the six crewmen were able to parachute to safety.

Though the B-1B's engines are designed to withstand most "bird strikes," investigators suspect that large Canada geese may have caused the fatal fire.