Rich Pedroncelli and Jonathan J. Cooper, Associated Press
Updated 3:35 am, Wednesday, September 21, 2016
Photo: Rich Pedroncelli, AP
Colonel Larry Broadwell, commander of the 9th Reconnaissance Wing and Beale Air Force base, near Marysville, Calif., discusses the crash of a U-2 spy plane Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2016. One pilot was killed and another injured when they ejected from the plane shortly after taking off from Beale, on a training mission.
lessColonel Larry Broadwell, commander of the 9th Reconnaissance Wing and Beale Air Force base, near Marysville, Calif., discusses the crash of a U-2 spy plane Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2016. One pilot was killed and
... more 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. The two pilots ejected before the crash.
lessSmoke 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
... more A California Highway Patrol helicopter drops water on a fire caused by the crash of a U.S. Air Force U-2 spy plane 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. The two pilots ejected before the crash.
lessA California Highway Patrol helicopter drops water on a fire caused by the crash of a U.S. Air Force U-2 spy plane in the Sutter Butte Mountains, Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2016, near Yuba City, Calif. The plane had
... more Authorities look over part of 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. The two pilots ejected before the crash.
lessAuthorities look over part of 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
... more ADDS CONDITION OF PILOTS - The wreckage of a U-2 spy plane that crashed after taking off from Beale Air Force Base on a training mission in Northern California, is seen Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2016. The U.S. Air Force says one pilot was killed, and one was injured after they ejected from the plane. (Hector Amezcua/The Sacramento Bee via AP)
lessADDS CONDITION OF PILOTS - The wreckage of a U-2 spy plane that crashed after taking off from Beale Air Force Base on a training mission in Northern California, is seen Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2016. The U.S. Air
... more This June 16, 2015, photo released by DVIDS/U.S. Air Force shows a mobile chase car pursuing a U-2 Dragon Lady as the aircraft prepares to land at Beale Air Force Base, Calif. Mobile chase cars guide the aircraft during takeoffs and landings. One American pilot was killed and another injured when they ejected from a U-2 spy plane shortly before it crashed in Northern California on Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2016 the U.S. Air Force said.(Airman 1st Class Ramon A. Adelan/Released U.S. Air Force via AP)
lessThis June 16, 2015, photo released by DVIDS/U.S. Air Force shows a mobile chase car pursuing a U-2 Dragon Lady as the aircraft prepares to land at Beale Air Force Base, Calif. Mobile chase cars guide the
... more Colonel Larry Broadwell, commander of the 9th Reconnaissance Wing and Beale Air Force base, near Marysville, Calif., pauses while talking to reporters about the crash of a U-2 spy plane Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2016. One pilot was killed and another injured when they ejected from the plane shortly after taking off from Beale, on a training mission.
lessColonel Larry Broadwell, commander of the 9th Reconnaissance Wing and Beale Air Force base, near Marysville, Calif., pauses while talking to reporters about the crash of a U-2 spy plane Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2016.
... more Colonel Larry Broadwell, commander of the 9th Reconnaissance Wing and Beale Air Force base, near Marysville, Calif., discusses the crash of a U-2 spy plane Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2016. One pilot was killed and another injured when they ejected from the plane shortly after taking off from Beale, on a training mission.
lessColonel Larry Broadwell, commander of the 9th Reconnaissance Wing and Beale Air Force base, near Marysville, Calif., discusses the crash of a U-2 spy plane Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2016. One pilot was killed and
... more A U.S. Air Force Hazmat team inspects 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. One pilot was killed and another injured when they ejected from the plane shortly after taking off from Beale Air Force base on a training mission.
lessA U.S. Air Force Hazmat team inspects 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. One pilot was killed and another
... more A firefighter puts water on the flames of a fire caused when a U.S. Air Force U-2 spy plane crashed in the Sutter Butte mountains, Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2016, near Yuba City, Calif. One pilot was killed and another injured when they ejected from the plane shortly after taking off from Beale Air Force base on a training mission.
lessA firefighter puts water on the flames of a fire caused when a U.S. Air Force U-2 spy plane crashed in the Sutter Butte mountains, Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2016, near Yuba City, Calif. One pilot was killed and
... more A U.S. Air Force Hazmat team inspects 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. One pilot was killed and another injured when they ejected from the plane shortly after taking off from Beale Air Force base on a training mission.
lessA U.S. Air Force Hazmat team inspects 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. One pilot was killed and another
... more A U.S. Air Force Hazmat team inspects 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. One pilot was killed and another injured when they ejected from the plane shortly after taking off from Beale Air Force base on a training mission.
lessA U.S. Air Force Hazmat team inspects 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. One pilot was killed and another
... more Military: U-2's flight routine before crash, killing pilot
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 two pilots ejected, leaving one dead and another injured.
The U.S. Air Force is investigating what caused the plane, assigned to the 1st Reconnaissance Squadron, to go down shortly after taking off from Beale Air Force Base around 9 a.m. PDT Tuesday. Military officials have not released the pilots' names or any information about the condition of the surviving airman.
The pilots had ejected from the aircraft before it plunged in the Sutter Buttes, a mountain range about 60 miles (97 kilometers) north of Sacramento.
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.
Col. Larry Broadwell, the base commander, said the flight, including its flight path was routine before the crash. He pledged to support the family of the deceased pilot and said surveillance pilots will mourn the loss.
"These incidents, while extremely tragic and hard for us to overcome, they're incidents that we do overcome," Broadwell said. "I am confident that the U-2 squadrons here and the U-2 squadrons around the world are going to come off the mat stronger than they were before."
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. The U-2 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.
Beale Air Force Base is home to the Air Force's fleet of single-seat U-2s and a double-seat variant used for training pilots to fly the specialized aircraft. It also is the base for the T-38 Talon, a training aircraft, and the RQ-4 Global Hawk, an unmanned surveillance drone. It houses 4,500 military personnel.
"We are saddened by our Airman's death & offer condolences to the family & all who are mourning this tremendous loss," Gen. Dave Goldfein, the Air Force chief of staff, said on Twitter.
Ejection seats allow military pilots to get out of a stricken plane and parachute safely to the ground. After the death in this instance, military investigators will look into whether the chute properly deployed and whether the pilot hit debris after ejecting, said Michael Barr, an aviation safety instructor at University of Southern California who flew fighter missions in Vietnam.
"If the chute didn't properly deploy, that would be fatal," Barr said.
The U-2 is slated for retirement in 2019 as the military relies increasingly on unmanned aircraft for intelligence gathering, though senior U.S. lawmakers from California are pressuring the Air Force to delay the retirement.
A U-2 based at Beale crashed in 1996 and slammed into the parking lot of a newspaper in Oroville, California. The pilot and a woman who had just renewed her newspaper subscription were killed.
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Cooper reported from Sacramento, California.
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