The Air Force announced Monday that 2nd Lt. David J. Mitchell, 26, of Amherst, Ohio, was the pilot killed in the March 14 crash (see below) of an F-16 from Luke AFB, Ariz. Mitchell, who was from the Ohio Air National Guard’s 180th Fighter Wing in Toledo, arrived at Luke last November to begin the base’s Basic Course Fighter Training program, which trains both active and reserve pilots. He had a total of 237 flying hours, with about 26 in the F-16.
The Air Force and Boeing agreed to a nearly $2.4 billion contract for a new lot of KC-46 aerial tankers on Nov. 21. The deal, announced by the Pentagon, is for 15 new aircraft in Lot 11 at a cost of $2.389 billion—some $159 million per tail.