Impact on Air Force's light-attack experiment unclear after Navy pilot dies in A-29 crash

One Navy pilot died and another aircrew member sustained minor injuries when an A-29 Super Tucano crashed while participating in the Air Force's light-attack experiment June 22.

The Navy said in a June 23 press release it is investigating why Lt. Christopher Short crashed during an A-29 training mission at the Red Rio Bombing Range.

An Air Force spokesman told Inside Defense June 22 that Holloman Air Force Base, NM, canceled its planned Friday exercises following the crash, which occurred 65 miles north of the base at the bombing facility that is part of the White Sands Missile Range.

The Air Force is vetting Sierra Nevada and Embraer's A-29 and Textron Aviation's AT-6 at Holloman AFB to determine whether to buy a fleet of cheaper aircraft to lessen the combat burden on the service's fighter jets in low-end conflict areas like the Middle East. The experiment's second phase, which began May 7, is exploring logistics, sustainment and weapons integration.

Air Force spokeswoman Maj. Emily Grabowski on Monday said she has no new information on how the crash affects the rest of the experiment. A Sierra Nevada spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday on the company's path forward.