Military Airplane crash reported in Augusta County near Deerfield Valley Road on August 27: Morris Fontenot Jr. killed

Emergency crews are currently responding to an airplane crash that happened Wednesday morning in Augusta County. The Augusta County Sheriff's Office is saying the airplane that crashed was a military aircraft.

An experienced pilot on a standard maintenance mission was missing Wednesday after the flier’s fighter jet crashed in the mountains of western Virginia, shaking residents but causing no injuries on the ground, military and law enforcement officials said. The pilot of the single-seat F-15C reported an inflight emergency, then lost radio contact, authorities said.

The F-15 Eagle is an all-weather, extremely maneuverable, tactical fighter designed to permit the Air Force to gain and maintain air supremacy over the battlefield.

“The pilot flying the F-15C made a report of an in-flight emergency prior to radio contact being lost,” he said. “Subsequently there were reports of dark smoke being seen around the aircraft's last known whereabouts. Local law enforcement arrived on scene and confirmed the aircraft crashed.”

Officials are holding a 2 p.m. press conference at Westfield-Barnes Regional Airport to address the crash of an F-15 fighter jet in Virginia just before 9 a.m. this morning.

Pilots are trained to release equipment when ejecting, Keefe said, so it was likely the pilot did not have a radio.

A HC-130 aircraft was also up in the air in the early morning hours Thursday. Major Mutti told 22News that is a larger, 4 propeller aircraft with lots of infrared cameras and electronic sensors that would help indicate where the pilot is.

He said the pilot's last contact was at 9:05 a.m. According to the Staunton, Va., News Leader, a witness reported seeing a parachute in the air near the crash site.

James Keefe said that as is the case for all pilots in the 104th, the pilot of this aircraft was very experienced.

The pilot of an F-15 jet that crashed this week in remote Virginia mountains was killed, military officials said Thursday, bringing to a sad end an exhaustive two-day search involving more than 100 local, state and federal officials as well as volunteers.

Lt. Col. Morris Fontenot Jr. served with the 104th Fighter Wing as the full-time Wing Inspector General, responsible for the implementation of the Air Force Inspection System and as an F-15 instructor pilot with more than 2,300 flight hours.

Kara Fontenot, joined by her daughters Natalie and Nicole, said at a memorial gathering at the Longmeadow Town Green that she was gratified to see hundreds of friends and neighbors pay their respects to her husband, Lt. Col. Morris "Moose" Fontenot Jr.

Officials with the 104th Fighter Wing have announced plans for a memorial service to honor Lt. Col. Morris Fontenot, Jr.

Base officials say it will be open to military members, their families and invited guests.

Yesterday hundreds of members of the 104th Fighter Wing joined politicians and family members to say goodbye to Fontenot in a memorial service at Barnes Air National Guard Base.

From the words that his peers and family spoke about him it was clear that he was a man who loved his work as a pilot, loved the people he worked with, and love his family most of all.

Starting Friday night, Westfield youth football players will all wear reminders of  Lt. Col. Fontenot on their helmets.

A Massachusetts Air National Guard pilot who was killed in the crash of an F-15C fighter jet will be buried at the Air Force Academy in Colorado.

On Sunday afternoon, hundreds of people gathered at the Holyoke’s  Ashley Reservoir to run and raise funds for the family of Lt. Col Morris “Moose” Fontenot. 

The investigation says Fontenot was incapacitated during a rapid descent, rendering him unable to recover or eject from the aircraft. The Air Force says the investigation board didn't have enough evidence to pinpoint why Fontenot was incapacitated.