A parachute lies near the site of a U-2 airplane crash in Sutter County, CA.
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Before the U-2 plane went down in the Sutter Buttes shortly after 9:05 a.m., the two pilots onboard ejected from the aircraft, Airmen Tristan D. Viglianco said.
A U-2 military plane known as the Dragon Lady crashed Tuesday in Northern California, the US Air Force said. Military officials say a student pilot and instructor, assigned to the 1st Reconnaissance Squadron, were on a routine training mission when it happened. The Colonel did not disclose which of the two pilots died. That corrected an earlier report that they were safe and awaiting recovery with the aircraft.
Officers from Beale Air Force Base and from the Air Force Safety Center, which oversee all inspection and safety functions for the Air Force, will seek to identify “the root cause” of the crash, Keith Wright, a spokesman for the safety center, told The Sacramento Bee.
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The aircraft is out of Beale Air Force Base, east of Marysville, California. Aircraft operated in the wing include the U-2 Dragon Lady (high-altitude reconnaissance), T-38 Talon (supersonic training jet), RQ-4 Global Hawk (unmanned surveillance), and MC-12 Liberty (low-altitude intelligence).
