The helicopter was apparently shot down on Friday while on a reconnaissance mission in eastern Jonglei state.

BBC: Russia demands action over UN helicopter downed in S Sudan

Once Scambos called the British Antarctic Survey, the group sent an aircraft on a reconnaissance mission to examine the extent of the breakout.

CNN: Massive ice shelf on verge of breakup

Twenty minutes before, Mellinger, who goes by Brad but is named Kevin, was running a reconnaissance mission on the banks of the Tigris River when he went down.

NPR: 'Miracle Workers' Save Lives at Balad Field Hospital

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

Nato said at the weekend that an unarmed reconnaissance aircraft had been flying a mission over western Afghanistan late last week when its operators lost control of it.

BBC: Iran shows film of captured US drone

Months after the back-to-back, mission-ending dives, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter flew over the crash sites and imaged the final resting spots.

NPR: NASA Moon Craft Spots Ebb And Flow Crash Sites

Its mission, then and now, was to go deep behind enemy lines in order to gather reconnaissance of the enemy (hence Force RECON).

FORBES: Where Does Marine Force Recon Fit In The World Of Special Operations?