Military aircraft down in Kern County - 1 dead

T-38 air force jet trainer jet went down just north of Edwards Air Force Base Thursday afternoon was on a training mission

Update: 5-22 AM -A statement from Edwards Air Force Base says 30-year-old Capt. Mark P. Graziano was killed Thursday afternoon on a training flight when his T-38A crashed near California City, about nine miles north of the Mojave Desert base.

Major Lee V. Jones, a senior navigator, ejected from the plane and was injured. The Air Force says he's in stable condition at a hospital.

Witness reports: Paul Sigman was sitting on his front porch, when he heard an eerie sound. "I heard the plane go over. It sounded like it was having some problems with the thing. The afterburner kicked in, then it kicked out and kicked back in and out again. And then there was just dead silence maybe for 2 or 3 seconds and then I heard what sounded like a sonic boom, just a terrible explosion."
Another man who witnessed the crash, said he saw one person eject from the jet before it went down.

Scanner listener report: Both pilots ejected. One ejected through the canopy and suffered a partial amputation of his right arm and leg, plus broken bones. The second pilot was pronounced on the scene approximately 5 miles miles north California City.

Injuries: Officials say the coroner removed the body of one crew member. The other, who was flown to Kern Medical Center, suffered undisclosed injuries. The names of the pilots have not been released.
Also reports of a Brush fire in the same area of California City...

Cause: crash is under investigation.

It was the second crash of an aircraft from Edwards in less than two months. On March 25, a test pilot died when an Air Force F-22A Raptor crashed about 35 miles north of the base.

Related post: Aircraft down: F-22 with one pilot aboard has crashed near Edwards Air Force Base