A United States Air Force B-52 Stratofortress bomber crashed shortly after takeoff at Edwards Air Force Base in California. According to a statement from Edwards Air Force Base, the crash happened on the Edwards Airfield at around 11:20 a.m. local time, and emergency crews immediately responded while the situation remained ongoing. The base said more information would be provided as it became available.
The crash was devastating. A large fire sent a thick column of black smoke high into the sky before it gradually subsided, leaving a wide debris field scattered across the airfield. Little remained to suggest the wreckage had once been an aircraft, with what was left amounting to a vast black scar on the ground that dwarfed the vehicles around it.
A heavy emergency presence built up at the site, drawn largely from Edwards Air Force Base first responders. Fire crews worked to put out hot spots, several large trucks were deployed and three ambulances gathered at a command post, while additional personnel began to walk the site as part of the response.
The Air Force later confirmed the toll. Officials said the bomber had been carrying eight people when it went down shortly after takeoff, and that all eight had been confirmed dead. Those on board were described as a mix of Air Force members and private contractors, and authorities said the effort had become a recovery mission for their remains, with relatives now receiving the news. Officials said they would not release further details until next of kin had been notified.
The cause of the crash was not known, and the investigation was expected to be lengthy. Takeoff and landing are among the most vulnerable phases of any flight, and there did not appear to be any extreme weather in the area at the time, in the Kern County region where the base sits. The Air Force said the crash remained under investigation and that further details would follow.
The aircraft involved, the B-52H Stratofortress, is a long-range heavy bomber that the United States has relied on across numerous conflicts. Representative Vince Fong of California, who succeeded former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, asked people to join him in praying for the B-52 crew and for the wider community around Edwards Air Force Base.
Officials said the aircraft had been on a training mission, the kind carried out at the base on a daily basis, when it went down on the runway after something appeared to go wrong on takeoff. In the wake of the crash, the Air Force grounded all operations at Edwards Air Force Base and said the base would remain closed the following day. Edwards, in the Mojave Desert, is a key site where the Air Force and NASA test new aircraft and equipment, and B-52s have been used there as a mothership to carry test vehicles high into the sky, leaving it unclear whether the plane was one of the roughly 72 operational bombers in the fleet or an aircraft kept at the base for flight testing.