By Gina Gomez
Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., Oct. 17, (THAINDIAN NEWS) An investigation that had been going on for the May 21 air crash that had taken place at the Edwards Air Force Base has finally arrived at some conclusions. From what has been revealed in the reports of the probe, it now appears that the cause of the fatal crash had stemmed from a maintenance error.

It was chiefly due to a technical snag that the T-38 jet had crashed in to the Mojave Desert quite a few months ago. The tragic incident had taken place during an air force Test Pilot School flying practice session. On the 21st of May, the T-38 had been assigned to fly in the route of the 412th Test Wing. It had however gone down almost 12 miles north of the Edwards Air Force Base, leading to a tragic accident.

The impact of the crash landing had killed the pilot of the T-38 [who had been unable to eject himself from the air craft] on spot. The navigator had however escaped a similar fate by being able to eject himself out on time. However, he still had sustained quite some serious injuries.

Since the time of the fatal crash, an inquiry probe had been going on, the result of which was released this week. According to the reports and the presence of valid evidences, it has come to light that it was the mechanism of the rudder operation that had failed due to a loosely fitted bolt. It was chiefly this loose fitting bolt that had come off free while the jet was in flight and led to the fatal crash.