All of the USA military’s U-2 planes are stationed at Beale Air Force Base.
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The plane crashed shortly after takeoff from Beale Air Force Base in Sutter County for a training mission, KTXL reported.
The service had initially said both pilots ejected safely, but later confirmed one was killed.
The incident is now under investigation. “The technology is fantastic, but it is not foolproof”, Col. Larry Broadwell, the base commander, said in an afternoon news conference.
With a maximum altitude of 70,000 feet (21,300 meters, ) the U-2 was initially created to fly out of reach of Soviet air defenses.
Investigators say they are not yet sure why the plane crashed just after taking off from Beagle Air Force Base north of Sacramento. The base is also home to other popular aircrafts such as the unmanned surveillance drone called the RQ-4 Global Hawk and the T-38 Talon. It houses 4,500 military personnel.
The original U-2A first took flight in August of 1955 and later provided key intelligence on the Soviet military during the 1960s, according to a U.S. Air Force U-2 fact sheet.
The spy plane crashed into a parking lot outside the offices of the Oroville Mercury Register, killing the pilot and a woman on the ground. “If the chute didn’t properly deploy, that would be fatal”, Barr said. But among the Air Force’s inventory of 33 U-2s are five dual-seat models used as trainers.
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The crash started a grass fire that burned to the west of where the plane came down and fire crews were warned to stay clear of the crash site until a hazardous materials team arrived. This crash comes 20 years after another U-2 plane from the same air force base crashed into the auto park of the Oroville Mercury Register in August 1996. Randy Roby, either ejected or was blown out of the aircraft.
