The U.S. Air Force says one pilot was killed and another injured when they ejected from a U-2 spy plane minutes before it crashed Tuesday in Northern California.
The pilots from Beale Air Force Base were participating in a training mission. The crash occurred shortly after takeoff in the Sutter Buttes, a mountain range some 97 kilometers north of Sacramento.
The Air Force did not release the pilots' names or any information about the condition of the surviving airman.
The U-2 is a surveillance and reconnaissance plane capable of flying at extremely high altitudes. It gathers imagery and electronic signals for intelligence analysts and battlefield commanders.