Operational U-2 planes are single-seater aircraft, but there are two-seater versions used to train new pilots. “We saw the pilots eject and it looked like two parachutes came out”, Berry said. The cause of the crash is now being investigated.
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A firefighter puts water on the flames of a fire caused when a US Air Force U-2 spy plane crashed in the Sutter Butte mountains. Geraldine Marie “Jerri” Vering, 49, of Oroville, a customer who had just finished renewing a subscription at newspaper offices, was killed on the ground. She said she could not discuss what caused the plane to crash or Eadie’s death.
Although the incident sparked fresh concerns about the aging spy aircraft’s safety, the 9th Reconnaissance Wing’s commander said the reconnaissance flight will continue unharmed.
The Air Force did not release the pilots’ names or any information about the condition of the surviving airman.
The U-2 Dragon Lady “provides high-altitude, all-weather surveillance and reconnaissance, day or night, in direct support of US and allied forces”, according to an Air Force fact sheet. On Tuesday, a U-2 crashed during a training flight in Sutter County, Calif. It regularly reaches altitudes of more than 70,000 feet, and its pilots wear pressure suits similar to those worn by astronauts.
Beale AFB officials have made a decision to ground all U-2 planes as a safety precaution as the investigation continues. It is also the base for another training aircraft, the T-38 Talon, plus the RQ-4 Global Hawk, an unmanned surveillance drone.
The Air Force confirmed that pilots were ejected from the plane before the crash, according to the Sacramento Bee.
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Those two accidents broke a five-year run in which the U-2 aircraft did not experience any serious mishaps.
