One pilot is dead and a second injured after a U-2 Dragon Lady spy plane crashed on Tuesday in California, the Air Force announced. The plane was from the 9th Reconnaissance Wing at Beale Air Force Base in California.
Air Force Times has learned that the pilot killed was a lieutenant colonel. The injured pilot is a captain who was taking the flying portion of the interview to become a U-2 pilot.
Smoke rises from 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 plane had just taken off on a training mission from nearby Beale Air Force Base.
Photo Credit: Rich Pedroncelli/AP
The Los Angeles Times first reported on Tuesday that one of the two pilots was killed. A spokesman for the 9th Reconnaissance Wing confirmed that one of the pilots had been killed. The pilot's name has not yet been released pending next of kin notification. The other pilot is being treated for injuries, the extent of which were not immediately known.
At 12:17 Eastern Time, Air Combat Command initially tweeted that both pilots had "safely ejected" and were awaiting recovery after the plane crashed an unpopulated area. Then at 3:02 p.m., ACC tweeted that it lacked "confirmation of status of U-2 pilots" following the crash.
The U-2 is one of the Air Force's most venerable reconnaissance planes, known for its high-flying and its track record during the Cold War. It regularly reaches altitudes of more than 70,000 feet, and its pilots wear pressure suits similar to those worn by astronauts.
It is usually a single-seat airplane. But among the Air Force's inventory of 33 U-2s are five dual-seat models used as trainers. Since the Air Force said two pilots ejected from the crashed plane, that suggests it was one of the trainers.
In addition to U-2s, the 9th has RQ-4 Global Hawks, T-38 Talons and MC-12 Liberty surveillance aircraft.
Stephen Losey is the air warfare reporter for Defense News. He previously covered leadership and personnel issues at Air Force Times, and the Pentagon, special operations and air warfare at Military.com. He has traveled to the Middle East to cover U.S. Air Force operations.
