A U-2 spy plane crashed in California Tuesday morning, killing one pilot and injuring another..
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The Air Force initially reported the two crew members had “safely ejected” and were awaiting recovery.
A spokesman for the 9th Reconnaissance Wing confirmed that one of the pilots had been killed. The cause of the crash is now being investigated.
But, one retired U.S. Air Force pilot says while something went wrong yesterday, the plane has proven to be one of the most valuable planes ever used in the military.
Later reports indicated that officials were trying to recover the body of the deceased pilot.
A U.S. Air Force Hazmat team inspects the wreckage of a U.S. Air Force U-2 spy plane that crashed in the Sutter Butte mountains, Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2016, near Yuba City, Calif. The Global Hawks are also stationed at Beale, from which they fly thousands of miles to pinpoint human targets for armed Predator and Reaper drones.
Both the highest flying and one of the oldest military aircraft now in operation, the U-2 (nicknamed “The Dragon Lady”) was originally introduced in 1957 as a way of surpassing Russia’s infamous “Iron Curtain” and made headlines in the 1960s when one was shot down by the Soviet Union. A pilot ejected before the crash and was found dead.
Gen. Dave Goldfein, the Air Force chief of staff, offered his condolences on Twitter. Both pilots aboard ejected, but one was killed and another sustained injuries, the Air Force said in a statement.
Pete Spyres was in the air flying a crop duster and watched the crash from the sky.
“My role is to support the military personnel”, Pierce said.
A U-2 Dragon Lady, a spy plane, came down shortly after takeoff in Sutter, north of state capital Sacramento. In 2012, the Air Force said it had spent $1.7 billion over eight years to modernize the aircraft with new flight and surveillance technology.
The crash killed the pilot and a woman in the parking lot.
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The Beale air base is home to America’s fleet of high-altitude spy planes, and its motto is emblazoned on signs: “In God We Trust”.
