In the United States crashed spy plane U-2

In the US state of California crashed spy plane U-2. The pilots managed to eject, but one of them died a few hours later clarified the representatives of Beale Air Force Base, where the plane took off. It is reported by Los-Angeles Times.

Reconnaissance aircraft fell to the ground in the countryside shortly after taking off from an air base. U-2 carried out a training flight. Initially, on the basis of reports that both pilots managed to eject and survived. Then came clarification of "no official information" on the status of the pilots. It later emerged that the bailout one of them was killed and the other injured when landing.

The reasons for the disaster at the time of this writing are not named.

LAT recalls that in 1996 in the same area crashed another U-2 - then killed the pilot and a woman in the parking lot, where the plane crashed.

U-2 uses US military intelligence throughout the world since 1955. TASS reminds that the fame he acquired in 1960 when the US Air Force pilot, Francis Gary Powers, who ran such a plane was shot down by Soviet air defenses over the Urals. Pilot during interrogation admitted that to take photographs of the Soviet military-industrial facilities.

Powers had been in prison for 21 months, and returned home in 1962, when he was exchanged for Soviet spy Rudolf Abel-illegal (William Fisher), who was arrested in the US on charges of "nuclear spies".