US Air Force B-52 Bomber Crash in California: 8 Crew Members Presumed Dead

A US Air Force B-52 Stratofortress bomber crashed on Monday shortly after takeoff from Edwards Air Force Base in Southern California's Mojave Desert. Sadly, all eight crew members were presumed dead, according to the base.

The eight-engine, jet-powered aircraft was on a routine test mission when it went down about four hours after the crash. Emergency responders were on the scene, and officials were working to account for all personnel.

An aerial video of the crash scene showed a charred, smoldering patch of the desert floor, roughly the size of a football field, with no large pieces of debris visible. "An Air Force B-52 Stratofortress carrying eight people on a routine test mission crashed today after take-off at 11:20 a.m. (PDT). Initial indications are that the crash was not survivable," the base said in an update.

The Stratofortress, designed and built by Boeing, has long served as the backbone of the US crewed strategic bomber force. It can carry munitions at altitudes of up to 50,000 feet and perform a variety of missions, including strategic attack and close-air support.

This incident marks the first crash of a B-52 Stratofortress since 2016, when a similar bomber crashed on Guam. All seven crew members survived that incident.

Only the H model of the B-52 remains in the Air Force inventory, assigned to bases in North Dakota and Louisiana under the Air Force Global Strike Command.