Lockheed U-2 USAF Crashed and Killed Pilot

Lockheed U-2 USAF Crashed and Killed Pilot

Lockheed U-2 USAF Crashed and Killed Pilot. An United States pilot was killed and another one injured when ejected from a spy plane Lockheed U-2. Shortly before it crashed in northern California on Tuesday morning, said US Air Force. The plane crashed shortly after takeoff from Beale Air Force Base on a training mission around 9 a.m. military officials said. They did not release the names of the pilots or any information about the condition of airmen survive.

The aircraft, assigned to the 1st Reconnaissance Squadron, crashed in the Sutter Buttes, covering a mountain north of Sacramento about 60 miles (97 kilometers). Colonel Larry Broadwell, the base commander, said the flight, including flight path was routine before the accident. He pledged to support the family of the deceased pilot and said the pilots surveillance will mourn the loss.

Ejection seats allow military pilots to exit an affected aircraft and parachute safely to the ground. After the death in this case, military investigators will study whether the ramp deployed properly and the pilot hit debris after the expulsion, said Michael Barr, an analyst said.

"If the ramp is not deployed correctly, that would be fatal," Barr said.

The U-2 is scheduled for retirement in 2019 when the military relies increasingly on unmanned aircraft to collect information, despite high US lawmakers from California are pressing the Air Force to delay retirement.

The U-2 "Dragon Lady" is a surveillance and reconnaissance plane capable of flying above 70,000 feet (21,336 meters), an extremely high altitude that's twice as high as a typical commercial airliner flies. Dragon Lady is known as one of the most difficult aircraft to fly at low altitudes due to the characteristics that allow it to travel near space, according to an Air Force fact sheet.