NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nevada, April 5, 2018 (Gephardt Daily) — The U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds pilot killed when his jet crashed Wednesday morning was a graduate of Utah Valley University.
Major Stephen Del Bagno was a 2005 graduate of the UVU, located in Orem.
Del Bagno, from Valencia, Calif., was killed during a routine training flight at the Nevada Test and Training Range, a U.S. Air Force statement said.
The Thunderbirds team is made up of the Air Force’s best F-16 pilots, who perform at airshows throughout the U.S.
“It is unknown how this accident will impact the remainder of the 2018 Thunderbirds season,” the USAF statement said.
Del Bagno was commissioned in 2007. Before joining the Air Force, he was a civilian flight instructor, corporate pilot, skywriter, and a banner tow pilot.
According to his U.S.A.F. biography, Del Bagno had logged more than 3,500 total flight hours in over 30 different aircraft, with 1,400 hours as an Air Force pilot.
