U-2 spy plane crashes on training mission in California, killing pilot and starting wildfire

A US military plane crashed in northern California on Tuesday, killing one pilot and leaving a second injured.

The U-2 Dragon Lady spy plane fell from the sky near the Sutter Buttes, a small mountain range rising out of the Sacramento Valley.

Beale Air Force Base confirmed the crash, and said two pilots were on board and both had ejected. The condition of the injured pilot was unknown on Tuesday evening, as was the cause of death for the second pilot.

In a statement, the base said the pilots had been on a training mission, and that the incident was under investigation.

The Appeal Democrat newspaper said both pilots had landed in a remote and difficult to access area of the buttes.