An official says a veteran pilot had just completed an exercise with a military weapons school at an Air Force base near Las Vegas when he ejected as the plane went down. The man who has more than two decades of fighter pilot experience was alone in a Skyhawk jet opposite Nellis' weapons school trainees early Thursday. A base spokesman said the crash involving the civilian contractor aircraft happened about 7:40 a.m. Thursday on public land adjacent to the base. Poteet said the six-month weapons school is akin to "getting your Ph.D in flying." The wing supports the Air Force warfare test-and-evaluation activities, runs a graduate-level U.S. Air Force weapons school and serves as home to the Thunderbirds air demonstration team.

Source: Fox News August 18, 2016 17:48 UTC