An Air Force F-22A fighter jet crashed Wednesday near Edwards Air Force Base in California, killing the test pilot, the Air Force said.An F-22A fighter jet similar to this one crashed Wednesday during a test mission in California.The single-seater crashed about 10:30 a.m. for unknown reasons, Air Force officials said.Lockheed Martin said the test pilot, David Cooley, 49, of Palmdale, California, joined the company in 2003 and was a 21-year veteran of the U.S. Air Force.The fighter was on a test mission when it crashed about 35 miles northeast of Edwards AFB, where it was stationed, the Air Force said in a news release. [cnn.com]

The F-22A Raptor crashed at 10 a.m. about 35 miles northeast of Edwards Air Force Base in the Mojave Desert. The Bureau of Land Management identifies the area as Harper Dry Lake, a vast and empty expanse of sometimes marshy flat land.The pilot was David Cooley, 49, a 21-year Air Force veteran who joined Lockheed Martin in 2003, the company said in a statement. It did not release any details of the accident or say whether Cooley attempted to eject.Cooley was part of a team of company and Air Force pilots who conduct F-22 testing. [foxnews.com]
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