U-2 Plane Crashes in Oroville; Pilot, Civilian on Ground Die

A U-2 spy plane crashed into a parking lot next to a newspaper building Wednesday, killing the pilot and at least one person on the ground.

Two other people on the ground were slightly injured.

Air Force Col. Wayne Newman identified the pilot as Capt. Randy Roby, an instructor from Fresno assigned to Beale Air Force Base.

Air Force officials said a civilian on the ground also was killed.

The plane crashed in a parking lot outside the offices of the Oroville Mercury Register. Robert Anglen, a reporter at the newspaper, said a customer leaving the building walked out at the moment the airplane plunged to earth and was killed in the crash.

The newspaper identified the civilian as Jerri Vering of Oroville.

Newman said the aircraft was on a routine mission, but he declined to discuss the flight.

Robert Frutos, a technician who was working on a radio tower at the time of the crash, said he saw the plane burst into flames while still in flight.

“The wing just blew off and the plane spiraled right down,” Frutos said. “It happened real quick.”