Temecula Air Force Pilot Killed During Training Mission

TEMECULA, CA — A U.S. Air Force pilot from Temecula who was killed during a training mission on the East Coast was saluted Friday by California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who ordered flags statewide to be flown at half-staff in memory of the aviator.

USAF 1st Lt. David Schmitz, 32, died on Tuesday when the F-16C Fighting Falcon he was flying crashed at Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina.

First Lt. David Schmitz was identified as the F-16CM pilot who was killed in a crash late Tuesday at Shaw Air Force Base. https://t.co/cxwtyZ2nt0
— Stars and Stripes (@starsandstripes) July 2, 2020

Schmitz was on a night training flight, but few details were available regarding the accident.

He had been assigned to the 20th Fighter Wing's 77th Fighter Squadron and started his career in the Air Force as an enlisted man, working as a loadmaster aboard mammoth C-17 Globemaster cargo planes, according to published reports.

The Temecula native remained focused on his dream of becoming a jet pilot and eventually earned a spot in officer training school, thereafter gaining acceptance into flight training and receiving placement in the F-16, USAF officials said.

The crash remains under investigation.

—City News Service