An RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned surveillance aircraft crashed near Mount Whitney in the Eastern Sierra Nevada mountain range at approximately 1:45 p.m. Wednesday. No injuries or deaths were reported.
Multiple witnesses reported seeing the aircraft go down as well as large flames and black smoke, according to the California Highway Patrol’s log. One retired deputy was on a bike ride in the nearby Alabama Hills when a stuttering engine was heard and then debris was flying through the sky, the log states.
The crash apparently started the Diaz Fire, which was reported by the Inyo National Forest to be 9 acres as of Friday. The blaze was burning at 9,000 feet between two wet drainages. Crews were working to begin containment Friday on the fire’s eastern edge, close to residential communities west of Lone Pine.
Nearly 140 people were responding to the fire.
The Global Hawk was assigned to the 9th Reconnaissance Wing at Beale Air Force Base, Calif., and was on a ferry flight from Edwards Air Force Base en route to its home station when it crashed.
The aircraft was at Edwards for repairs.
The cause of the accident is being investigated
Photo: The Inyo Sheriff’s Office posted this photo of the Diaz Fire on June 21, 2017.
Source: Edwards Air Force Base