Col. Danielle Barnes the Commander of Mission Support says Lt Col Eadie and his co-pilot ejected from the U-2 spy plane and deployed their parachutes.
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The crash set off a 250-acre wildfire.
“We are still working to make access to the patients to (determine) how we are going to get them out of the area they are in”, said Sutter County Fire Chief John Shalowitz early Tuesday afternoon. The pilot’s name has not yet been released pending next of kin notification.
Shalowitz said 20 engine units responded to battle the fire, which was set off in hot conditions with a 20 miles per hour breeze. “Additional details will be provided as they become available”. “We offer our deepest condolences to the Airman’s family and to all who are mourning this tremendous loss”, he said.
The U-2 planes aren’t used almost as much today. The Soviet Union shot down a U-2 and captured pilot Frances Gary Powers in 1960.
The U-2 spy planes will reportedly cease operations in 2019 because of the military’s preference for unmanned aircraft for collecting intelligence.
The aircraft was assigned to the 1st Reconnaissance Squadron at Beale Air Force Base and was on a training mission.
SUTTER, Calif. (AP) – A U-2 spy plane’s flight path was routine before something went wrong and the high-flying aircraft slammed into a mountain range in Northern California, the military said.
The Air Force declined further comment, saying the crash was under investigation. “The technology is fantastic, but it is not foolproof”, Col. Larry Broadwell, the base commander, said in an afternoon news conference. He described the day as an emotional one.
The U-2 is widely known as the most hard aircraft in the world to fly. But according to the U-2 fact sheet, the plane was funded through 2016 and could continue through 2025 or longer. The plane crashed to a parking lot and killed another person.
Beale AFB officials have made a decision to ground all U-2 planes as a safety precaution as the investigation continues. That accident killed Maj.
The Beale Air Force Base hosts the U-2 which is usually a single-seat airplane as well as the two-seat version of the plane which is often used for training purposes.
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(U.S. Air Force via AP). The officials, however, pointed out that the base quickly launched an investigation to determine the cause of the crash.
