One pilot was killed and another injured when a U-2 spy plane crashed in Northern California shortly after takeoff Tuesday morning, according to a U.S. Air Force official.

The pilots ejected shortly after takeoff from Beale Air Force Base and moments before the aircraft crashed into a rural area north of Sacramento, according to the Air Force.

Initially, the Air Force reported the crew members had “safely ejected” and were awaiting recovery.

Almost four hours after the crash, however, air combat command tweeted, “There is no official confirmation of status of U-2 pilots.”

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Shortly before 1 p.m., Sgt. Charity Barrett of Beale Air Force Base confirmed one pilot’s death. The extent of injuries suffered by the second pilot was unclear.

“There’s always inherent dangers in an ejection. The technology is fantastic, but it’s not foolproof,” Col. Larry Broadwell, the base commander, said at an afternoon news conference. “I would match the safety and maintenance record of the U-2 with any of the apparatus the Air Force flies.”

The crash occurred about 9 a.m., and the pilots were participating in a training mission, according to the Air Force.

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“Everything about the flight today was routine — nothing out of the ordinary as I was told,” Broadwell said.

The single-engine, high-altitude surveillance jet is from the 9th Reconnaissance Wing at Beale Air Force Base and was assigned to the 1st Reconnaissance Squadron.

Photographs from the scene showed the tail of the aircraft sticking out of a scorched hillside with wreckage scattered around it.

According to the base website, the wing is “responsible for providing ... timely, reliable, high-quality, high-altitude reconnaissance products.” The wing is equipped with U-2 planes as well as RQ-4 and MC-12 reconnaissance aircraft.

The last time a U-2 Dragon Lady crashed in the area was Aug. 7, 1996, in Oroville.

The spy plane crashed into a parking lot outside the offices of the Oroville Mercury Register, killing the pilot and a woman on the ground.

Capt. Randy Roby, an instructor assigned to Beale Air Force Base, was piloting the plane over the city on a routine mission when it burst into flames, then crashed.

Jerri Vering of Oroville was leaving the newspaper’s office when the plane’s wreckage hit and killed her.

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The Beale air base is home to America’s fleet of high-altitude spy planes, and its motto is emblazoned on signs: “In God We Trust. All Others We Monitor.”

The U-2 flies to 70,000 feet — higher than any other U.S. military aircraft. It’s also among the oldest. The spy plane was first designed during the Eisenhower administration to breach the Iron Curtain and, as engineers said, snap “picture postcards for Ike” of hidden military strongholds in the Soviet Union. There have been 33 updated versions of the jet that still flies today.

The U-2 is perhaps best known for the plane that was shot down over the Soviet Union in 1960 and the subsequent capture of pilot Francis Gary Powers. He was traded for a Soviet spy nearly two years later, but the embarrassing incident convinced U.S. officials that manned spy planes posed too many risks.

The military now relies more heavily on drones for reconnaissance and intelligence-gathering. The U-2 is set to be retired by 2019.

Times staff writer W.J. Hennigan contributed to this article.

The article will be updated as new information becomes available.

veronica.rocha@latimes.com

For breaking news in California, follow VeronicaRochaLA on Twitter.

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UPDATES:

4:25 p.m.: This article was updated with comments from the base commander about the aircraft and training mission.

12:55 p.m.: This article was updated with an official confirming the death of a pilot.

12:45 p.m.: This article was updated with additional information on the pilots’ condition.

12:20 p.m.: This article was updated with additional information on the aircraft’s unit and timing of the crash.

11:25 a.m.: This article was updated with additional details about the air base and aircraft.

11:05 a.m.: This article was updated with additional details about the crash.

This article was originally published at 10:40 a.m.</s>YUBA CITY, Calif. — 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 morning, the U.S. Air Force said.

The plane crashed shortly after taking off from Beale Air Force Base on a training mission around 9 a.m., military officials said. They did not release the pilots' names or any information about the condition of the surviving airman.

The aircraft, assigned to the 1st Reconnaissance Squadron, crashed in the Sutter Buttes, a mountain range about 60 miles (97 kilometers) north of Sacramento.

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.</s>YUBA CITY, Calif. (AP) — 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 morning, the U.S. Air Force said.

The plane crashed shortly after taking off from Beale Air Force Base on a training mission around 9 a.m., military officials said. They did not release the pilots' names or any information about the condition of the surviving airman.

The aircraft, assigned to the 1st Reconnaissance Squadron, crashed in the Sutter Buttes, a mountain range about 60 miles (97 kilometers) north of Sacramento.

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.</s>BEALE AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AP) — The Latest on the crash of a U.S. Air Force U-2 spy plane in California (all times local):

A senior officer at Beale Air Force Base says military personnel recovering the two pilots who ejected from a stricken U-2 spy plane found that both their parachutes had deployed.

But Col. Danielle Barnes said Wednesday she could not discuss what caused one pilot to die in Tuesday's incident.

The Air Force has not released the identity of the pilot or information about the condition of a comrade who survived.

Barnes says military investigators are looking into the cause of the crash, but there's no timeline for them to conclude their probe.

They ejected from a high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft shortly after a routine takeoff from the base north of Sacramento, California. The plane slammed into a mountainous area and caught fire about 20 miles west of the runway.

Commanders at Beale Air Force Base are scheduled to hold a news conference on the fatal crash of a U-2 spy plane in Northern California.

One pilot was killed and another injured Monday when they ejected from the high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft shortly after a routine takeoff from the base north of Sacramento.

The plane slammed into the side of the Sutter Butte mountains and caught fire about 20 miles west of the runway. The pilots landed a short distance away.

Officials have not released the identity of the pilot who died or information about the condition of the surviving airman.

The U-2 "Dragon Lady" flies at extremely high altitudes to capture images, radio signals and other information useful to intelligence officers and battlefield commanders.

ADDS CONDITION OF PILOTS - An Air Force officer stands guard in front of the burnt U-2 spy plane assigned to the 1st Reconnaissance squadron at Beale Air Force Base, Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2016 in Sutter County, Calif. The aircraft crashed during a training mission and went down on the lower slopes of the Sutter Buttes. The U.S. Air Force says one pilot killed, and one was injured after they ejected from the plane. (Hector Amezcua/The Sacramento Bee via AP)</s>The pilot who died after ejecting from a U2 spy plane that crashed in northern California was identified Wednesday as Lt. Col. Ira S. Eadie. Eadie was assigned to the 1st Reconnaissance Squadron at Beale Air Force Base near Sacramento, California. U.S. Air Force photo

BEALE AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. — The pilot who died after ejecting from a U2 spy plane that crashed in northern California was identified Wednesday as Lt. Col. Ira S. Eadie.

Eadie was assigned to the 1st Reconnaissance Squadron at Beale Air Force Base near Sacramento, California. The Air Force did not release his age or hometown.

Another pilot who survived sustained injuries that are not life-threatening and is now recovering in good condition at a local medical facility, base officials said. The surviving pilot was not identified.

Col. Danielle Barnes, a senior officer who oversees base operations, said military personnel recovering the two pilots found that both their parachutes had deployed. She said she could not discuss what went caused the plane to crash or Eadie's death. There's no timeline for investigators to conclude their probe.

"They will take as long as they need to execute a thorough and detailed investigation," Barnes said.

The Air Force said the plane was conducting a training mission on a routine flight path before something went wrong and the high-flying aircraft slammed into a mountainous area about 20 miles west of the runway.

Photos from the scene showed sections of the tail and wing splayed on the mountainside, with much of the aircraft charred and disintegrated. The crash sparked a fire on the grassy terrain, which was quickly extinguished.

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. Developed during the Cold War to spy on the Soviet Union, the single-engine aircraft now carries high-resolution cameras and sensors to gather radio signals and other information useful to intelligence agencies and battlefield commanders.

Pilots wear pressurized suits like those used by astronauts to survive in the low-pressure, low-oxygen environment in the upper reaches of the atmosphere.

Before the crash, the Air Force said it had 33 U-2s. Most are a single-seat aircraft, but five — including the one that crashed Tuesday —were a two-seat version used for training pilots to fly the specialized plane. Built by the defense contractor Lockheed Martin Corp, the U-2 fleet is based at Beale, with some planes flying missions from air bases around the world.

There have been a handful of crashes since the U-2 began flying in the 1950s. The Soviet Union shot down a U-2 and captured pilot Frances Gary Powers in 1960. Powers was imprisoned for two years before being released in a prisoner exchange.

The U-2 is slated for retirement in 2019 as the military relies increasingly on unmanned aircraft such as the RQ-4 Global Hawk for intelligence gathering, though senior U.S. lawmakers from California are pressuring the Air Force to delay the retirement.</s>The wreckage of a U-2 aircraft on the lower slopes of the Sutter Buttes in California on Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2016. Two pilots ejected, but one was killed and the other hurt, military officials said. Hector Amezcua, Sacramento Bee/TNS

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Tribune News Service) — A pilot from Beale Air Force Base was killed and a second was injured Tuesday after a U-2 spy plane, one of the most famous aircraft of the Cold War era, crashed Tuesday morning near the Sutter Buttes.

The pilots, participating in a training mission, ejected from the aircraft before it plunged into grassy hills in Sutter County.

The crash set off a 250-acre wildfire. Fire crews raced to put out the blaze as search and rescue teams searched for the pilots in remote terrain.

“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,” Sutter County Fire Chief John Shalowitz said early Tuesday afternoon. The Air Force confirmed shortly afterward that one pilot was dead.

Shalowitz said 20 engine units responded to battle the fire, which was set off in hot conditions with a 20 mph breeze. Near the crash site, a smoldering wing, fuselage and tail of the aircraft were visible on the horizon. The fire was extinguished Tuesday afternoon. The names of the pilots were not released.

“The incident is currently under investigation,” said the statement from the Air Force’s 9th Reconnaissance Wing. “Additional details will be provided as they become available.”

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein posted on Facebook that he was “deeply saddened” by the death of the pilot. “We offer our deepest condolences to the airman’s family and to all who are mourning this tremendous loss,” he said.

The aircraft was assigned to the 1st Reconnaissance Squadron, part of the 9th Reconnaissance Wing at Beale Air Force Base, where the U-2 fleet is based and its 33 planes are deployed to military detachments around the world. Over 1,000 personnel work on the U-2 program at the base near Marysville.

The U-2, a sleek black jet known as the Dragon Lady, became known for an international incident in 1960 when American Capt. Francis Gary Powers was shot down and taken prisoner after flying surveillance aircraft over the Soviet Union. The U-2 also gained fame for uncovering a secret Soviet launch site in the Cuban missile crisis of 1962.

Since that time, the U-2 has continued to play a critical military role, collecting imagery and electronic measurements on surveillance flights targeting terrorist networks in the Middle East.

While the military says the cost of a U-2 is classified, the military information site GlobalSecurity.org puts the price tag of the current model at $400 million. In 2012, the Air Force said it had spent $1.7 billion over eight years to modernize the aircraft with new flight and surveillance technology.

The Air Force has long planned to replace the U-2, normally flown with one pilot, with unmanned RQ-4 Global Hawks, remotely controlled aircraft first deployed by the Air Force in 2001. The Global Hawks are also stationed at Beale, from which they fly thousands of miles to pinpoint human targets for armed Predator and Reaper drones.

The U-2, celebrated in the movie “Bridge of Spies,” has been a point of pride for the Beale community, with the long-standing program also seen as an important economic resource for the region. This spring, Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-Richvale, offered a budget amendment to keep the U-2 operating at Beale through 2017.

“We want to make sure it stays there … It’s important for Northern California with the number of people employed at Beale Air Force Base,” LaMalfa said in a May interview with KNCO radio in Grass Valley.

Col. Larry Broadwell, Commander of the 9th Reconnaissance Wing at Beale, gave tribute to the U-2 program at a news conference at the base Tuesday afternoon. He described the day as an emotional one.

“I would match the safety and maintenance records of a U-2 with any other aircraft the Air Force flies. In fact, we are going to continue flying U-2 missions around the world and around the clock,” Broadwell said. He said Air Force officials were reaching out to family members of the pilots, who were not identified.

It was not the first time that a Beale U-2 has crashed in Northern California. Pilot Randy Roby’s U-2 spy plane fell from the sky in 1996, crashing into a parking lot next to the Mercury-Register newspaper in Oroville. Roby ejected from the plane but was found dead in his seat at the end of the parachute. Geraldine Marie “Jerri” Vering, 49, of Oroville, a customer who had just finished renewing a subscription at the newspaper office, was killed on the ground.

The last fatal accident involving a U-2 pilot took place in 2005, when one of the aircraft crashed near an air base in United Arab Emirates. That accident killed Maj. Duane Dively, a pilot from Beale who was deployed to the Middle East. He was returning from a mission over Afghanistan when he crashed.

More recently, the Air Force had expensive U-2 mishaps in both 2014 and 2015. Those “class A” accidents are those that cause more than $2 million in damage or cause a permanent injury to an airman. One class A accident took place in each of those years, according to records kept by the Air Force Safety Center at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico.

Those two accidents broke a five-year run in which the U-2 aircraft did not experience any serious mishaps.

Keith Wright, a spokesman for Air Force Safety Center, said Tuesday’s accident would trigger an investigation seeking to identify “the root cause” of the crash. The board is expected to consist of officers from Beale Air Force Base and from the Air Force Safety Center, which oversee all inspection and safety functions for the Air Force.

©2016 The Sacramento Bee (Sacramento, Calif.)

 Visit The Sacramento Bee (Sacramento, Calif.) at www.sacbee.com

 Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.</s>The wreckage of a U-2 aircraft on the lower slopes of the Sutter Buttes in California on Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2016. Two pilots ejected, but one was killed and the other hurt, military officials said. Hector Amezcua, Sacramento Bee/TNS

One pilot was killed, and another injured when a U-2 spy plane crashed in Northern California shortly after takeoff Tuesday morning, according to a U.S. Air Force official.

The pilots ejected shortly after takeoff from Beale Air Force Base and moments before the aircraft crashed into a rural area north of Sacramento, according to the Air Force.

Initially, the Air Force reported the crew members had “safely ejected” and were awaiting recovery.

Almost four hours after the crash, however, air combat command tweeted, “There is no official confirmation of status of U-2 pilots.”

Shortly before 1 p.m., Sgt. Charity Barrett of Beale Air Force Base confirmed one pilot’s death. The extent of injuries suffered by the second pilot was unclear.

The crash occurred around 9 a.m., and the pilots were participating in a training mission, according to the Air Force.

The single-engine, high-altitude surveillance jet is from the 9th Reconnaissance Wing at Beale Air Force Base and was assigned to the 1st Reconnaissance Squadron.

According to the base’s website, the wing is “responsible for providing … timely, reliable, high-quality, high-altitude reconnaissance products.” The wing is equipped with U-2 planes as well as RQ-4 and MC-12 reconnaissance aircraft.

The last time a U-2 Dragon Lady crashed in the area was on Aug. 7, 1996, in Oroville.

The spy plane crashed into a parking lot outside the offices of the Oroville Mercury Register, killing the pilot and a woman on the ground.

Capt. Randy Roby, an instructor assigned to Beale Air Force Base, was piloting the plane over the city on a routine mission when it burst into flames, then crashed.

Jerri Vering, of Oroville, was leaving the newspaper’s office, and the plane’s wreckage hit and killed her.

The Beale air base is home to America’s fleet of high-altitude spy planes, and its motto is emblazoned on signs: “In God We Trust. All Others We Monitor.”

The U-2 flies to 70,000 feet — higher than any U.S. military aircraft. It’s also among the oldest. The spy plane was first designed during the Eisenhower administration to breach the Iron Curtain and, as engineers said, snap “picture postcards for Ike” of hidden military strongholds in the Soviet Union. There have been 33 updated versions of the jet that still flies today.

The U-2 is perhaps best known for the plane that was shot down over the Soviet Union in 1960 and the subsequent capture of pilot Francis Gary Powers. He was traded for a Soviet spy nearly two years later, but the embarrassing incident convinced U.S. officials that manned spy planes posed too many risks.

The military now relies more heavily on drones for reconnaissance and intelligence-gathering. The U-2 is set to be retired by 2019.

Staff writer W.J. Hennigan of the Tribune Washington Bureau contributed to this report.

 ©2016 Los Angeles Times

 Visit the Los Angeles Times at www.latimes.com

 Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.</s>BEALE AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. — The Latest on the crash of a U.S. Air Force U-2 spy plane in California (all times local):

Commanders at Beale Air Force Base are scheduled to hold a news conference on the fatal crash of a U-2 spy plane in Northern California.

One pilot was killed and another injured Monday when they ejected from the high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft shortly after a routine takeoff from the base north of Sacramento.

The plane slammed into the side of the Sutter Butte mountains and caught fire about 20 miles west of the runway. The pilots landed a short distance away.

Officials have not released the identity of the pilot who died or information about the condition of the surviving airman.

The U-2 "Dragon Lady" flies at extremely high altitudes to capture images, radio signals and other information useful to intelligence officers and battlefield commanders.</s>The pilot who died after a U-2 spy plane crashed in Northern California was identified Wednesday as Lt. Col Ira S. Eadie, military officials said.

Eadie, assigned to the 1st Reconnaissance Squadron at Beale Air Force Base, was on a training mission Tuesday with another pilot in the two-person aircraft, according to the U.S. Air Force.

The two pilots ejected just after takeoff, and the plane smashed into a rural area north of Sacramento, officials said.

The other pilot suffered injuries that were not life-threatening; on Wednesday, the Air Force said the pilot remains hospitalized in stable condition.

The second pilot’s identity as well as Eadie’s age and hometown were not released.

The crash occurred about 9 a.m. Tuesday. Air Force officials had initially reported the pair had safely ejected from the plane but later confirmed Eadie’s death. The extent of the second pilot’s injuries was not disclosed.

Col. Danielle Barnes told the Associated Press that both pilots had deployed their parachutes. But Barnes, who oversees base operations, did not provide details on what caused the plane to go down, citing the ongoing investigation.

The site of the crash will remain under monitoring by security personnel, Barnes said.

"We want to maintain the integrity of the crash site,” Barnes said.

Photographs from the scene showed the tail of the aircraft sticking out of a scorched hillside with wreckage scattered around it.

“There’s always inherent dangers in an ejection. The technology is fantastic, but it’s not foolproof,” Col. Larry Broadwell, the base commander, said in a news conference. “I would match the safety and maintenance record of the U-2 with any of the apparatus the Air Force flies.”

The Beale air base, about 45 miles north of Sacramento, is home to America's fleet of high-altitude spy planes. The base’s motto is emblazoned on signs: “In God We Trust. All Others We Monitor.”

The U-2 flies to 70,000 feet — higher than any other U.S. military aircraft. It’s also among the oldest. The spy plane was first designed during the Eisenhower administration to breach the Iron Curtain.

There have been 33 updated versions of the jet that still flies today. A handful are equipped with two seats to allow for training missions, like the aircraft involved in Tuesday’s incident.

The U-2 is perhaps best known as the plane that was shot down over the Soviet Union in 1960. Pilot Francis Gary Powers was captured and traded for a Soviet spy nearly two years later, but the embarrassing incident convinced U.S. officials that manned spy planes posed too many risks.

The military now relies more heavily on drones for reconnaissance and intelligence-gathering. The U-2 is set to be retired by 2019.

The last time a U-2 Dragon Lady crashed in the area was Aug. 7, 1996, in Oroville, about 40 miles north of Beale Air Force Base.

The spy plane crashed into a parking lot outside the offices of an Oroville newspaper, killing the pilot. The plane’s wreckage also struck and killed a woman as she left the newspaper’s office.</s>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.
A United States Air Force U-2 reconnaissance aircraft crashes in Northern California, shortly after takeoff from Beale Air Force Base, killing one pilot and injuring another.