The pilot of an Air National Guard F-15C jet that crashed Wednesday in a remote area of the Virginia mountains died in the accident, the commander of the unit at his Massachusetts base said Thursday, bringing a tragic end to an exhaustive two-day search involving more than 100 local, state and federal officials as well as volunteers.
Air Force Col. James Keefe, 104th Fighter Wing commander, announced the news at the Massachusetts Air National Guard in Westfield, saying that searchers didn't get into the remote crash site until Thursday afternoon since Wednesday's crash was still suffering from fires and other hazards, the Associated Press reported.
Keefe said his "thoughts and prayers are with the family" of the pilot, whose identity wasn't disclosed. "Today was a tough day for the Massachusetts Air National Guard," Brig. Gen. Robert Brooks, Commander of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, told a news conference in Deerfield.
The pilot, who was with the 104th Fighter Wing of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, was traveling in a single-seat jet from Massachusetts to a base in New Orleans to receive a radar system upgrade as part of routine maintenance, when it lost contact with air traffic controllers in the D.C. area about 9 a.m. Wednesday, officials said. Although an in-flight emergency was reported by the pilot before losing communications, authorities did not specify what trouble the plane had encountered.
It was confirmed that rescuers found evidence at the crash site showing the pilot was unable to eject. When asked for specifics, Brooks said, "We just found evidence that the ejection seat was with the aircraft."
The investigation into what caused the crash of the single-seat jet is ongoing and will take several weeks, Brooks said. Although he would not comment on whether the pilot's remains had been found, he said the pilot's family had been informed and his identity would be made public Friday, The Washington Post reported.
The jet crashed in George Washington National Forest about 160 miles southwest of Washington, and Virginia State police were alerted by residents who heard the crash in Augusta County. State police said heavy smoke was spotted coming from the side of a mountain in that area. "The jet hit the ground at a high rate of speed, leaving a deep crater and a large debris field in a heavily wooded area next to a mountain in the George Washington National Forest," according to the AP.
Over the past few years, several F-15s have crashed in various states due to failure of a support structure for the jet and pilot error. In at least one, the pilot ejected safely.
