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Pilot dies in F-15 crash during Red Flag

LAS VEGAS — A pilot was killed and another was injured Wednesday when an F-15 fighter jet crashed during training exercises in the Nevada desert.

The two-seater F-15D Eagle went down at about 11:30 a.m. in the vast Nevada Test and Training Range north of Las Vegas, according to a statement released by Nellis Air Force Base officials.

One pilot was declared dead shortly after the crash; another was transferred to the base hospital and was in stable condition, base spokesman Andrew Dumboski said.

The names of the pilots were not immediately released.

Dumboski said both were assigned to the 65th Aggressor Squadron at Nellis, about 10 miles north of Las Vegas. The 65th Aggressor Squadron simulates enemy forces in air combat Red Flag training exercises regularly held by the base, officials said.

An F-16 fighter jet crashed during exercises on the training range in March 2007. The pilot safely ejected before that crash and was not seriously injured.

A 28-year-old Navy pilot was killed last month during a routine training mission near Fallon Naval Air Station when his F/A-18C Hornet collided with a F-5 Tiger aircraft.

The F-15D Eagle is primarily used for tactical missions and costs $29.9 million, according to Air Force figures.