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LOS ANGELES (AP) — A B-52 bomber crashed soon aft takeoff astatine a U.S. Air Force basal successful Southern California’s Mojave Desert and burst into flames Monday, sidesplitting each 8 radical aboard, subject officials said.
Aerial footage showed virtually thing near of the craft that went down astir 11:20 a.m. during a regular trial ngo astatine Edwards Air Force Base, which is northbound of Los Angeles. Black fume roseate from a ample swath of charred godforsaken adjacent the runway connected the base, with exigency vehicles nearby.
Those connected the B-52 included authorities contractors and uniformed military. Aircraft shaper Boeing confirmed Monday evening that 2 of its employees were connected board.
After reviewing footage of the crash, it was determined that nary 1 could person survived, Col. James Hayes, the lawman commandant for the 412 trial helping astatine Edwards, said astatine a quality conference.
“We mislaid 8 large Americans,” Hayes said, adding that officials were moving to notify their families.
It was not instantly wide what caused the crash, and it could instrumentality up to six months to implicit an investigation, Hayes said, but shared that the B-52 was supporting the “radar modernization program.”
The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is simply a long-range bomber that entered work successful 1955. Designed to transportation some accepted and atomic weapons, it has been utilized successful conflicts involving the U.S. subject from Vietnam to Iran.
In 2025, Boeing sent a B-52 to Edwards with a new, modernized radar system. A trial squad planned to behaviour crushed and formation trial activities connected the craft passim 2026 to provender a accumulation decision, the aerial unit said successful a 2025 quality release. The modern Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar strategy replaced the aircraft’s antiquated radar for efficacy. It was unclear if that was the aforesaid craft progressive successful Monday’s crash.
Edwards Air Force Base is location to a ample information of the U.S. Air Force’s craft trial and improvement efforts and is astir 100 miles (161 km) northbound of Los Angeles. The 412th Test Wing, which runs the base, besides conducts developmental investigating of each Air Force aircraft, weapons systems, bundle and components earlier acquisition by the work arsenic good arsenic passim their lifespan.
The immense godforsaken basal is wherever Air Force trial aviator Chuck Yeager reached a velocity of Mach 1.05 and broke the dependable obstruction successful 1947.
The airfield was closed astir of Monday and each inbound craft were being diverted, but it reopened to radical coming onto the basal by precocious afternoon. Non-commercial visitant passes for the basal were suspended arsenic exigency crews doused the flames.
It’s excessively soon to accidental what mightiness person happened.
Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said helium is profoundly saddened by the lives lost.
“We mourn this nonaccomplishment and grant the work of our Airmen, civilians, and contractors who enactment each time to beforehand our mission,” helium said successful a station connected X.
The mode the B-52 crashed truthful rapidly aft takeoff without getting precise precocious oregon going acold makes aviation information adept Jeff Guzzetti fishy immoderate benignant of formation power malfunction.
It’s imaginable the controls were rigged incorrect aft maintenance, helium said, oregon a catastrophic motor occupation oregon a nonaccomplishment of a portion of instrumentality that was being tested.
“I deliberation it was decidedly a controllability issue. Now, whether that was tied to an motor failure, a formation power failure, oregon immoderate caller investigating instrumentality failure, I’m not sure,” said Guzzetti, who utilized to analyse crashes for some the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board.
Although the Air Force has been flying B-52 bombers for much than 70 years, investigating retired caller instrumentality connected a level tin make caller challenges.
“A formation trial is ever riskier than mean operations, truthful that’s wherefore you person specially trained trial pilots, and you should person different information protocols,” Guzzetti said.
In caller years, fatal Air Force grooming accidents successful the U.S. person included an teacher aviator who was killed successful 2024 erstwhile the ejection spot activated portion the craft was inactive connected the crushed successful Texas and an Air Force ROTC cadet's decease successful a 2022 mishap involving a Humvee during a grooming workout successful Idaho. Two Air Force pilots were killed erstwhile a trainer pitchy crashed adjacent an Alabama airdrome successful 2021.
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Toropin reported from Washington, D.C. AP Transportation Writer Josh Funk successful Omaha, Nebraska, and AP reporters Hallie Golden successful Seattle and Jennifer Kelleher successful Honolulu contributed to this report.
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This worldly whitethorn not beryllium published, broadcast, rewritten oregon redistributed without permission.
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