A huge plume of black smoke rose over the Mojave Desert on Monday after a B-52 Stratofortress crashed immediately after takeoff from Edwards Air Force Base, killing all eight people on board — including two Boeing employees on a routine test mission.
The bomber went down at 11:20 local time on the base's runway, bursting into flames in what the military later called an "unrecoverable crash and unsurvivable" incident. Aerial footage showed a charred, smoking landscape where the aircraft came to rest, with no wreckage visible above the scarred tarmac.
“Eight dead after B-52 bomber crashes at Edwards Air Force Base on routine test mission”
"Today, Edwards Air Force Base experienced a terrible tragedy, and we lost eight great Americans," said Col James Hayes, deputy commander of the 412th Test Wing. He described the crew as a "mixed crew of military, government civilians and government contractors." Boeing confirmed two of its employees were among the dead and said it was in contact with their families.
The B-52, a long-range strategic bomber that has been in service since the 1950s, was supporting the base's radar modernisation programme. It crashed shortly after takeoff and was "totally contained" within the base perimeter, Hayes said, but the airfield was closed and all inbound aircraft diverted. Non-commercial visitor passes were suspended as the base focused on emergency response.
No cause has yet been determined. Hayes said initial investigations could take up to 30 days, with further analysis possibly extending beyond six months. Jeff Guzzetti, a former crash investigator for the FAA and NTSB, told the Associated Press he suspected a flight control malfunction, saying: "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."
The B-52, nicknamed "the Buff" — partly short for "Big Ugly Fat" — can fly at up to 50,000 feet and carry a payload of 70,000lb (32,000kg), including conventional bombs and nuclear cruise missiles. It has been used in bombing raids during the US and Israel's war in Iran, which began in late February. President Donald Trump claimed on Monday that a preliminary peace deal with Tehran was "all signed."
California Governor Gavin Newsom called the crash "a tragic incident" and offered condolences. The crew's next of kin were being notified, and Hayes said names would be released 24 hours after that. The base has grounded operations temporarily, leaving unanswered questions about what went wrong in those final moments after takeoff.