IL Airman Killed In Workplace Incident At Air Force Base: Officials

JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, AK — An airman from Streamwood was killed last week in a workplace incident in Alaska, according to authorities.

U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Charles A. Crumlett, 25, died Friday after serving as a weapons load crew chief for six years and arriving in February at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, where he was a member of the 90th Fighter Generation Squadron, according to a news release from the base.

“Though he was only with us a short time, Charlie will always be a Diceman,” squadron commander Lt. Col. Charles Bayne said in the news release. “We send our thoughts and prayers to his family, friends, and the entire maintenance community.”

Crumlett was working on an F-22 Raptor fighter jet when he died, the Anchorage Daily News reported, adding the Third Wing paused operations after the incident. The Air Force’s Office of Special Investigations is conducting a probe into the circumstances of his death, according to the base.

Crumlett joined the Air Force in 2016 and studied at Sheppard Air Force Base in Texas, the news release said, noting he received two Air and Space Commendation Medals and one Air Force Achievement Medal.