The Air Force identified the pilot who died when the U-2 he was flying in crashed during a training mission Tuesday morning near Beale AFB, Calif. Lt. Col. Ira S. Eadie, assigned to the 1st Reconnaissance Squadron, and another pilot ejected before the TU-2S crashed near the Sutter Buttes in the Sacramento Valley shortly after takeoff at about 9:05 a.m.? local time, according to a release. The other pilot, who has not been identified, sustained non-life-threatening injuries and is receiving care at a local facility. The cause of the crash is under investigation.
The Air Force plans to conduct more intensive training—and Congress is set to help by boosting funding for exercises and so-called “campaigning” by hundreds of millions of dollars, particularly in the Pacific.
