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| B-52 crashes on take-off at Edwards AFB during test flight, killing all 8 aboard | ||
| 2026-06-16 | ||
[Bing] Brief CNN news video. A second, longer CNN report can be watched here. Subsequent update here reports eight presumed dead in the crash of a flight testing radar modifications — a mixed crew of military and civilian contractors. Next of kin is being notified, names will be announced after that is complete.
[AyPee] 8 people died in B-52 bomber crash at US Air Force base in Southern California, officials say A B-52 bomber crashed shortly after takeoff at a U.S. Air Force base in Southern California’s Mojave Desert and burst into flames Monday, killing all eight people aboard, military officials said. Aerial footage showed virtually nothing left of the aircraft that went down around 11:20 a.m. during a routine test mission at Edwards Air Force Base, which is north of Los Angeles. Black smoke rose from a large swath of charred desert near the runway on the base, with emergency vehicles nearby. Those on the B-52 included government contractors and uniformed military. Aircraft manufacturer Boeing confirmed Monday evening that two of its employees were on board. After reviewing footage of the crash, it was determined that no one could have survived, Col. James Hayes, the deputy commander for the 412 test wing at Edwards, said at a news conference. “We lost eight great Americans,” Hayes said, adding that officials were working to notify their families. It was not immediately clear what caused the crash, and it could take up to six months to complete an investigation, Hayes said, but shared that the B-52 was supporting the “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. In 2025, Boeing sent a B-52 to Edwards with a new, modernized radar system. A test team planned to conduct ground and flight test activities on the aircraft throughout 2026 to feed a production decision, the air force said in a 2025 news release. The modern Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar system replaced the aircraft’s antiquated radar for efficacy. It was unclear if that was the same aircraft involved in Monday’s crash. Edwards Air Force Base is home to a large portion of the U.S. Air Force’s aircraft test and development efforts and is about 100 miles (161 km) north of Los Angeles. The 412th Test Wing, which runs the base, also conducts developmental testing of all Air Force aircraft, weapons systems, software and components before purchase by the service as well as throughout their lifespan. The way the B-52 crashed so quickly after takeoff without getting very high or going far makes aviation safety expert Jeff Guzzetti suspect some kind of flight control malfunction. It’s possible the controls were rigged wrong after maintenance, he said, or a catastrophic engine problem or a failure of a piece of equipment that was being tested. “I think it was definitely a controllability issue. Now, whether that was tied to an engine failure, a flight control failure, or some new testing device failure, I’m not sure,” said Guzzetti, who used to investigate crashes for both the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board. Although the Air Force has been flying B-52 bombers for more than 70 years, testing out new equipment on a plane can create new challenges. “A flight test is always riskier than normal operations, so that’s why you have specially trained test pilots, and you should have other safety protocols,” Guzzetti said.
In January, the Air Force awarded Boeing a roughly $2 billion contract to modify and test two B-52s equipped with the new engines ahead of a planned fleetwide upgrade. The B-52 typically operates with a crew of five, including two pilots, a radar navigator, navigator and electronic warfare officer. The aircraft is one of 76 B-52s remaining in the Air Force inventory. The fleet is expected to remain in service for decades as the Air Force pursues extensive modernization upgrades. The nuclear-capable bomber first entered service in the 1950s and remains a central component of the U.S. strategic bomber force. Related: B-52 05/24/2026 Air Force debuts historic 8-ship bomber-fighter formation over Miami Beach B-52 04/17/2026 Neither Shock nor Awe: How Iran Exposed a Crisis in US Military Thought B-52 04/01/2026 Trump: No deal needed to end the war, Iran won’t be able to obtain a nuke ‘for years’ | ||
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