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US Navy Identifies Pilot Killed in California Fighter Jet Crash


Undated photo provided on Aug. 2, 2019 by the US Navy shows Lt. Charles Z. Walker, 33, the pilot killed in the crash of a fighter jet in the California desert.
Undated photo provided on Aug. 2, 2019 by the US Navy shows Lt. Charles Z. Walker, 33, the pilot killed in the crash of a fighter jet in the California desert.

The U.S. Navy has identified the pilot killed in the crash of a fighter jet in the California desert.

A Navy statement Friday says the pilot was 33-year-old Lt. Charles Z. Walker.

The Navy released a photo of Walker but provided no additional information, such as his hometown.

Walker's F/A-18E Super Hornet crashed July 31 in Death Valley National Park while flying through a canyon where military pilots routinely conduct low-level training missions.

Seven park visitors on a canyon overlook suffered minor injuries caused by debris from the crash.

The Super Hornet was assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron VFA-151 based at Naval Air Station Lemoore in California's Central Valley.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation.

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