Near Lockhart in San Bernardino County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)

David P. "Cools" Cooley

F-22 Crash Site

Photographed by Craig Baker

1. David P. "Cools" Cooley Marker

Inscription.
Historical Landmark in Memory of:
David P. "Cools" Cooley
F-22 S/N 4008 Crashed on this site 25 March 2009
In pursuit of improving America's defense.

Erected 2014 by 411th Flight Test Squadron, and F-22 Combined Test Force.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Air & Space. A significant historical date for this entry is March 25, 2009.

Location. 35° 9.408′ N, 117° 22.482′ W. Marker is near Lockhart, California, in San Bernardino County. It can be reached from Hoffman Road. Located 20 miles north of Highway 58. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Hinkley CA 92347, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Greater Los Angeles,

in the Peninsular Ranges,

and specifically in the Transverse Ranges.

It is also in the American Southwest.

Globally, it is in North America,

on the Ring of Fire,

in the Pacific Rim,

in the Western Hemisphere,

in the Western World,

and in the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain

and also Mexico’s Alta California.

Regarding David P. "Cools" Cooley. David Paul Cooley

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(February 15, 1960 – March 25, 2009) was a Lockheed test pilot and retired United States Air Force officer, responsible for developmental flight testing of the F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighter. He was killed while flying a test mission in an F-22 Raptor jet fighter over the high desert of Southern California.
Due to the high G-forces required by the flight profile, Cooley was likely incapacitated by G-induced loss of consciousness.

Because of accidents like this, if a fighter pilot experiences G-induced loss of consciousness, today’s aircraft can automatically recover with the Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance System, which takes control of the aircraft to prevent a ground collision.

Photographed by Craig Baker

2. David P. "Cools" Cooley Marker

Photographed by Craig Baker

3. David P. "Cools" Cooley Marker

"F-22" Road Sign image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Craig Baker

4. "F-22" Road Sign

David Cooley image. Click for full size.

courtesy U.S. Air Force

5. David Cooley

courtesy U.S. Air Force

6. F-22 Raptor

Credits. This page was last revised on August 24, 2026. It was originally submitted on March 26, 2025, by Craig Baker of Sylmar, California. This page has been viewed 201 times since then and 67 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on March 26, 2025, by Craig Baker of Sylmar, California. 4. submitted on May 6, 2025, by Craig Baker of Sylmar, California. 5, 6. submitted on March 26, 2025, by Craig Baker of Sylmar, California.