Monday’s fatal crash of a B-52 Stratofortress at Edwards Air Force Base (KEDW) in California, which killed all eight occupants, is one of the most tragic in the model’s and the base’s history.
The accident was the deadliest involving the B-52 since 1982, when a Stratofortress crashed shortly after taking off from the former Mather Air Force Base (KMHR) in California and killed nine.
The deadliest on record was in 1958, when two bombers collided and killed 13 occupants. In 1956, six crew and four flight instructors died in a crash that remains the worst single aircraft loss of life in the Stratofortress’ operating history, per the Aviation Safety Network. It has been in U.S. military service since the 1950s, with about 75 in operation today.
Another infamous case was in 1994, when a B-52 executing a go-around for an airshow near Fairchild Air Force Base (KSKA) in Washington state banked past 90 degrees, stalled, and clipped a power line. The crash killed all four crew.
Accidents were not uncommon in the B-52’s early decades of operation, but they are increasingly rare. Before Monday, the most recent fatal crash involving the model occurred in 2008 off the coast of Guam, killing six. In 2016, a B-52 crew failed to abort a takeoff from Guam’s Andersen Air Force Base, but all occupants were evacuated and survived.
According to The War Zone, Monday’s crash is also the most fatal accident at Edwards since a B-50D crashed and killed eight in 1951. The base is the headquarters for the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School and Air Force Test Center, which has evaluated every aircraft in the service’s inventory since World War II.
What We Know About the Crash
According to Edwards, the B-52 on Monday was conducting a routine test mission and crashed shortly after taking off, around 11:20 a.m. PDT.
Air Force Colonel James Hayes, deputy commander of the 412th Test Wing at Edwards, said in a press conference that officials determined the crash was “unrecoverable” and “unsurvivable” and that the plane “crashed and burst into flames.” Images of the crash site gathered by news helicopters show a plume of black smoke rising from the California desert and appeared to show a near-total loss of the aircraft.
“At that point, we went into the notification process,” Hayes said.
Hayes said the aircraft was carrying a “mixed crew of military, government civilians, and government contractors.” Officials have not named the eight people on board, but Boeing in a statement confirmed that two of them were its employees.
“We are in contact with their families and are offering support,” the B-52 manufacturer said.
The B-52 has six crew positions and four jump seats but typically flies with five occupants. It has a two-level cockpit that necessitates downward ejection for some crew positions, which may have made escape impossible or fatal if the aircraft was still low to the ground.
According to Hayes, the aircraft was taking part in the military’s B-52 Radar Modernization Program, which is replacing aging legacy radars with more modern active electronically scanned array (AESA) systems to keep the military’s oldest strategic bomber flying through the 2050s. In a December news release, the Air Force said a B-52 equipped with the new AESA system completed its ferry flight. It is unclear whether that aircraft was the one involved in Monday’s crash.
Hayes said the base is standing down from operations on Tuesday “mainly because of the runway itself.”
Federal, state, and military officials on Monday offered their condolences to the victims’ loved ones as well as the tight-knit bomber and test aircraft communities.
“It is with profound sadness that we mourn the loss of eight teammates today at Edwards AFB,” said General Ken Wilsbach, Air Force chief of staff. “My thoughts are with the bomber and test communities during this difficult time.”
Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink stated: “We mourn this loss and honor the service of our Airmen, civilians, and contractors who work every day to advance our mission. I send my sincerest condolences to their families and loved ones.”
California Governor Gavin Newsom added that “my thoughts are with the victims, their families, and the entire Edwards Air Force Base community impacted by this tragic incident.”
What Happens Next?
According to Hayes, the military’s investigation into Monday’s crash could take upward of six months. That fits with recent precedent—it took about seven months for officials to complete their investigation into the July 2008 B-52 crash near Guam.
“At this point, we don’t have any indication as to what the cause was of this,” Hayes said. “We won’t be able to release that information, and we don’t have an availability to get that anytime soon.”
He said the first step will be the formation of an interim safety board, tasked with gathering initial facts and assigning the case a class from A to E, with A being the most severe. The interim board will pass its findings along to a safety investigation board for further analysis of root causes, a process Hayes said would take about 30 days.
The safety investigation board’s findings will be shared only within the Defense Department. After that, though, evidence will be passed to an accident investigation board, which will determine what could be communicated publicly. Following the 1994 B-52 crash in Washington, safety and accident investigation boards each conducted inquiries, with the latter sharing conclusions to the public.
The Air Force has not yet named a board president to oversee the investigation. Typically, though, that person comes from outside the impacted unit—in this case, the 412th Test Wing—to maintain objectivity.
