An Air Force Flight Standards Agency C-21 crashed around 11:30 a.m. yesterday at the Decatur, Ill. airport. Air Force officials say the two pilots on board were sent to a local hospital for observation. The Herald-Review reports that the two airmen walked away from the crash. The pilots, assigned to AFFSA’s unit at the Will Rogers Air National Guard Station in Oklahoma City, were conducting touch-and-go training at the Decatur airport. The accident is under investigation.
U.S. Air Force F-35s and F-22s regularly deploy deep into the Pacific region from Alaska, Utah, and Hawaii. In the future, though, the head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command would like to see the Air Force permanently station fifth-generation aircraft west of the international date line—closer to China.