David Cooley Was Test Pilot For Lockheed Martin
ANN REALTIME UPDATE 03.25.09 2230 EDT: Officials have
identified the pilot killed when a Lockheed Martin F-22A Raptor
crashed near Edwards Air Force Base Wednesday morning.
David Cooley, 49, was a 21-year Air Force veteran who joined
Lockheed Martin in 2003. He was stationed at Edwards as part of a
Lockheed contingent involved with testing the advanced fighter
aircraft.
"This is a very difficult day for Edwards and those who knew and
respected Dave as a warrior, test pilot and friend," Maj. Gen.
David Eichhorn, commander of the Air Force Flight Test Center, told
The Associated Press.
Few details are available regarding the circumstances
surrounding the crash, which occurred at approximately 10:00 am
PDT. Authorities did not state whether Cooley ejected from the
aircraft.
The stricken Raptor impacted about 35 miles northeast of
Edwards, in a dry lake bed near Hinkley, CA.
Original Reports
03.25.09 1500 EDT (UPDATED 1600 EDT): Aero-News
has learned an F-22A Raptor has crashed near Edwards Air Force Base
in southern California. Pentagon spokeswoman Lt. Col. Ann Stefanek
confirmed the accident to The Associated Press.
A second USAF spokesman, Maj. David Small, said the jet was
assigned to the 412th Test Wing at Edwards, and was on an
unspecified test mission when it went down.
There are conflicting reports as to the location of the
accident, reports the Barstow Desert Dispatch. The California
Highway Patrol said the plane came down in the Harper Dry Lake
region near Hinkley, almost directly due east of Edwards, while Air
Force sources say the crash site is further north.
At this time, there is no information about the status of the
single-seat fighter's pilot.
To date, there has been just one F-22 accident that resulted in
the loss of the airframe --
a December 2004 takeoff crash, later
attributed to the unprecedented failure of the test aircraft's
advanced electronic control systems. The pilot was able to safely
eject from that stricken plane.
Thursday's accident comes at a delicate time for the F-22
program, as manufacturer Lockheed Martin awaits word from the Obama
White House on whether more funding will be allocated to continue
production of the $140 million fighters, past the 183 planes
currently budgeted. Of those, about 135 have been delivered.
The USAF originally planned to buy 750 of the stealthy aircraft,
but Air Force leaders have met stiff resistance to that plan from
the Pentagon. Many military leaders would prefer the USAF instead
purchase greater quantities of the less capable -- but also much
less expensive, at around $80 million apiece -- F-35 Lightning
II, which is still in testing.
"The timing isn't great for the aircraft's advocates, but I
can't imagine one crash being an effective argument against
additional procurement," Teal Group analyst Richard Aboulafia told
Bloomberg. "I can't think of a modern-generation fighter that
hasn't crashed either in operational use or in testing."
This is a breaking news story. ANN will have more information as
it becomes available.