Investigators are just beginning to determine what went wrong, but the Air Force has struggled to maintain the planes, which were first introduced in 1955.
In the 10 years or so that Jeromy Smith worked as a flight test engineer at Edwards Air Force Base in Southern California, his wife said, he spoke over and over about the job’s risks.
“He loved his work — as a child, he knew he wanted to go into aero... [1635 chars]