Others described the pilot's efforts to save the EP-3 reconnaissance plane and 24-member crew as heroic.

CNN: U.S. pilot struggled to regain control after collision

During that time, Pentagon officials said the crew had time to destroy sensitive equipment and information on board the reconnaissance plane.

CNN: U.S. pilot struggled to regain control after collision

Five American soldiers and two Colombians were killed after a United States military plane on an anti-drugs reconnaissance flight crashed in a remote part of Colombia .

ECONOMIST: Going ballistic

The deadliest incident for the DEA occurred August 27, 1994, when a plane carrying five special agents crashed in the Peruvian Andes during a reconnaissance mission, according to the DEA's Web site.

CNN: STORY HIGHLIGHTS