The governor of Nevada ordered flags to be flown at half-staff to honor a U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds pilot who died this week in a training flight crash.
Gov. Brian Sandoval's executive order calls the Friday gesture a mark of respect and remembrance for Maj. Stephen Del Bagno. Del Bagno was 34 and lived in Valencia, California.
He died Wednesday when his F-16 Fighting Falcon known as Thunderbird 4 crashed in the Nevada Test and Training Range north of Nellis Air Force Base.
Del Bagno was in his first season with the elite Thunderbirds flight demonstration team. He previously served as an F-35A stealth jet evaluation pilot with the 58th Fighter Squadron at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida.
The Air Force says the crash is being investigated.
"We are mourning the loss of Major Del Bagno," said Brig. Gen. Jeannie Leavitt, 57th Wing Commander. "He was an integral part of our team and our hearts are heavy with his loss. We ask everyone to provide his family and friends the space to heal during this difficult time."
The test range covers 3 million acres and provides 12,000 square miles of restricted airspace to the north and northwest of Las Vegas for pilots to rehearse and test warplanes.
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The incident was the third U.S. military aircraft crash this week.
