Press release – Saturday, June 24

LONE PINE, California – City residents may notice a small team of Air Force members in the area during the coming days. They are searching for small, widely scattered fragments of an RQ-4 Global Hawk that crashed in the mountains west of Lone Pine at about 1:45 p.m. June 21.

The large majority of debris from the mishap is confined to a small footprint in a remote area in the mountains, but a few scattered fragments have been found miles from that site. The team is in the area to effect as complete a recovery of the aircraft as possible and to protect public health and the environment.

Area residents should be aware that while pieces of the aircraft are not harmful to people with training and proper equipment, they can be harmful to people if they are handled incorrectly. Any debris found by members of the public should be left in place and reported to accident investigators at 661-277-3040.

The aircraft was assigned to the 9th Reconnaissance Wing, Beale Air Force Base, California, and was on a ferry flight from Edwards Air Force Base en route to its home station when it crashed.

The incident is currently under investigation.

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EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – An Air Force RQ-4 Global Hawk remotely piloted aircraft crashed near Lone Pine, California in the Eastern Sierra Nevada mountain range at approximately 1:45 p.m. PDT Wednesday.

The crash site is in a remote area not easily accessible by the public. Nevertheless, the general public is advised to stay away from the area.

Any debris in the crash area is hazardous and should not be handled or disturbed. Suspected debris should be left in place and reported to accident investigators at 661-277- 3040.

The aircraft was assigned to the 9th Reconnaissance Wing, Beale Air Force Base, California, and was on a ferry flight from Edwards Air Force Base en route to its home station when it crashed.

The incident is currently under investigation.