How the Tucano became the A-29 Super Tucano
Inside look at the Super Tucano, a low tech-high tech combo, selected by the U.S. Air Force to take part in their exciting Light Attack Experiment and made in the USA by the Sierra Nevada and Embraer partnership
The U.S. Navy has identified the pilot who died Friday when the aircraft he was flying crashed at an Air Force base in New Mexico.
Navy Lt. Christopher Carey Short, of Canandaigua, N.Y., was piloting the A-29 Super Tucano jet when it crashed around 11:30 a.m. local time over the Red Rio Bombing Range, part of White Sands Missile Range, just 65 miles north of Holloman Air Force Base.
Navy Lt. Christopher Carey Short died Friday, June 22, 2018, when the aircraft he flew crashed at an Air Force base in New Mexico. (Courtesy of family)
Short was participating in a training flight "as a part of the Air Force’s Light Attack Experiment,” U.S. military officials said.
The Friday test was to determine whether the Air Force would select the Textron Aviation AT-6 Wolverine or the A-29 Super Tucano to make up its fleet of light attack aircrafts, Military.com reported.
"There's no way to describe the shock of this loss and the sadness we feel for his family," Air Force Col. Houston Cantwell, commander of Holloman's 49th Wing, said in a statement. "He did pioneering work in aviation that will help shape American air power for years to come. We're thankful to have known him and grateful for his devotion to duty."
"There's no way to describe the shock of this loss and the sadness we feel for his family. He did pioneering work in aviation that will help shape American air power for years to come. We're thankful to have known him and grateful for his devotion to duty."
The White Sands Missile Range Directorate of Emergency Services was the first to respond to the scene.
Another crew member suffered minor injuries and was airlifted to a local hospital. That crew member's name and specific medical condition were not immediately available.
Friday’s crash was the seventh for the Air Force this year in a non-combat situation, matching the total for all of last year.
The crash also marked the second for an A-29 in a little over a year. Previously, an A-29 crashed near Moody Air Force base in Georgia. An Air Force report released in December blamed an engine problem and "visibility restrictions from the rear cockpit."
The A-29 test aircraft was owned and operated by a contractor, an Air Force spokesman told Fox News. Military.com reported the Super Tucano was made by Sierra Nevada/Emraer.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation.
Holloman AFB is about 217 miles south of Albuquerque.
Fox News’ Lucas Tomlinson and Paulina Dedaj contributed to this report.
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