All eight people on board a B-52 bomber that crashed shortly after takeoff at a U.S. Air Force base in the Mojave Desert in Southern California and caught fire on Monday have died, military officials said, UNN reports citing AP.
Details
Aerial footage showed that virtually nothing remained of the aircraft, which crashed around 11:20 a.m. local time during a routine test mission at Edwards Air Force Base, north of Los Angeles. Black smoke rose from a large swath of charred desert near the base's runway, with emergency vehicles nearby.
Those on board the B-52 included government contractors and uniformed service members. Aircraft manufacturer Boeing confirmed Monday evening that two of its employees were on board.
After reviewing video footage of the crash, it was determined that no one could have survived, Colonel James Hayes, deputy commander of the 412th Test Wing at Edwards in the U.S., said at a press conference.
"We lost eight great Americans," Hayes said, adding that officials are working to notify their families.
According to Hayes, it was not immediately clear what caused the crash, and the investigation could take up to six months, but he shared information that the B-52 was supporting a "radar modernization program."
The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is a long-range bomber that entered service in 1955. Designed to carry both conventional and nuclear weapons, it has been used in conflicts involving the U.S. military from Vietnam to Iran.
Addendum
Fatal U.S. Air Force training accidents in recent years have included an instructor pilot who died in 2024 when an ejection seat activated while the aircraft was still on the ground in Texas, and the death of a U.S. Air Force ROTC cadet in a 2022 accident involving a Humvee during training in Idaho. Two U.S. Air Force pilots died when a trainer jet crashed near an Alabama airport in 2021.