Lockheed pilot killed in F-22 crash
By Michael Hoffman and Sam LaGrone - Staff writers
Posted : Wednesday Mar 25, 2009 19:24:57 EDT
The pilot flying the F-22 that crashed Wednesday morning near Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., was pronounced dead at a local hospital, officials said.
The pilot, whose name was not released, was a contractor working for Lockheed Martin, the company that manufactures the F-22. Officials didn’t say if the pilot had served in the Air Force.
The Raptor crashed at around 10 a.m. Wednesday morning about 25 miles northeast of Edwards while flying a test mission, said Gary Strasburg, an Air Force spokesman. The aircraft is based at Edwards where F-22s are tested by the 412th Training Wing.
Officers with the California Highway Patrol saw smoke in the area of Cuddedry Lake, an old emergency landing field for experimental planes, near Edwards, said Officer E. Smith, a spokesman for the Highway Patrol.
”We were told to stay out of the scene and that they were sending a rescue helicopter for the pilot,” Smith said.
Only one other U.S.-owned F-22 has crashed. That plane went down Dec. 20, 2004, during takeoff at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. The cause was flight control software errors.
The service has 134 F-22s that cost $133 million each. It is the first fifth-generation fighter jet to be fielded by the U.S.
LM Mourns the Loss of F-22 Test Pilot David Cooley
FORT WORTH, Texas, March 25, 2009
Lockheed Martin test pilot David Cooley, 49, was killed Wednesday at about 10 a.m. Pacific time in the crash of an F-22 aircraft flying on a test mission from Edwards AFB, California. We are deeply saddened by the loss of David and our concerns, thoughts and prayers at this time are with his family. David joined Lockheed Martin in 2003 and was a 21-year veteran of the U.S. Air Force. He worked at the F-22 Combined Test Force, where a team of Lockheed Martin and Air Force pilots conduct F-22 aircraft testing.
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