The United States Air Force officials posted on Twitter the plane was a U-2 from Beale Air Force Base, home of the 9th Reconnaissance Wing. Officials said Wednesday that the other pilot sustained non-life-threatening injuries and was in stable condition at a local medical facility.
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Hours later, Sgt. Charity Barrett of Beale Air Force Base confirmed one pilot’s death.
Broadwell said, this incident is very disastrous and tough for us to conquer and I am sure that U-2 squadrons in all over world come up with stronger.
Eadie was assigned to the First Reconnaissance Squadron at Beale Air Force Base.
A military plane crashed during a training flight Tuesday morning about 45 miles north of Sacramento, just west of Yuba City.
The pilots were participating in a training mission when the accident happened, according to the Air Force.
U-2 flights from Beale have been suspended.
The U-2 Dragon Lady, which holds two crew members, is a high-altitude surveillance plane based at Beale Air Force Base in California.
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. The Colonel did not disclose which of the two pilots died.
“We offer our deepest condolences to the Airman’s family and to all who are mourning this tremendous loss”, he said.
Before the crash, the Air Force said it had 33 U-2s.
Ejection seats allow military pilots to get out of a stricken plane and parachute safely to the ground.
In 1996, a U-2 crashed in Oroville, killing the pilot, Capt.
Barnes said Air Force personnel are still at the crash site and preparing to start the investigation phase.
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The U-2 spy planes will reportedly cease operations in 2019 because of the military’s preference for unmanned aircraft for collecting intelligence.
