The Pentagon has announced an Iowa native is among the eight people killed in Monday’s B-52 plane crash at an Air Force base in California.
U.S. Air Force Major Brad Hovey, who was born in Algona, was a pilot with a Test Squadron at Edwards Air Force Base in the Mojave Desert. Hovey graduated from Adel-DeSoto-Minburn High School in 2009 according to a Facebook post from the school’s alumni association. In 2014, he earned an aerospace engineering degree from Iowa State University.
A long list of Iowa officials have issued statements offering condolences to Hovey’s famiy. Governor Reynolds said as Iowans “honor Major Hovey’s life and service,” they are reminded of “the incredible sacrifice demanded of every American who chooses to serve our country.”
Hovey was one of six Air Force officers on the plane along with two contractors for Boeing, the company that manufactures the B-52. Military officials say it may take up to six months to detmine why the plane crashed shortly after take off. The Pentagon says a modernized radar system had been installed in the plane aat a Boeing plant in Texas and was part of a testing program aimed at keeping the fleet of B-52s operating through 2050.