Remains Of Three Americans Recovered From Afghanistan Crash Site

KABUL (AP) - The remains of three American military contractors have been recoverd from the wreckage of a U.S. Army reconnaissance plane that crashed two weeks ago in northeastern Afghanistan.

The plane went down during a routine surveillance mission for NATO forces over some rugged mountains in an area that’s a stronghold of Taliban insurgents. They had overrun a coalition outpost in the province less than two weeks earlier, killing eight American troops.

But NATO says “hostile action is not believed to be the cause of the crash.“

The plane went down without sending any distress signals.

Four days after the crash, the military says a helicopter flying over the site reported “a strong downdraft” and was forced to make a “hard landing” nearby.

Lockheed Martin says the three dead men were working for subcontractors on “counter-narcoterrorism” operations.

The crash remains under investigation.