The RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned surveillance aircraft crashed in an uninhabited area near Lone Pine, in the eastern Sierra Nevada mountain range, an Edwards Air Force Base public affairs officer said in a news release.
No injuries or deaths were reported.
Officials at Edwards Air Force Base in California confirmed to local news outlets that the large high altitude, long endurance unmanned aircraft crashed during a routine transit from Beale Air Force Base more than 350 miles to the northwest. Inyo National Forest is roughly 200 miles north of Edwards, not in a straight line from Beale. Though there are no information on the circumstances of the mishap so far, this might mean aircraft was following an elongated flight path over less populated areas or had lost contact with its ground control station and flew off course.
The Global Hawk was assigned to the 9th Reconnaissance Wing at Beale Air Force Base, Calif., and was on a ferry flight from Edwards en route to its home station when it crashed, according to the release.
The cause of the accident has not been determined.