B-52 bomber crashes after takeoff at US military base, 8 people killed
Eight people were killed after a US Air Force B-52 bomber crashed after takeoff at Edwards Air Force base in California.
"We lost eight great Americans," James Hayes, the deputy commander at Edwards Air Force base, said at a news conference.
Aerial footage showed virtually nothing left of the aircraft that went down around 11:20 a.m. local time (18:20 GMT), the base said.
BREAKING: EIGHT crewmembers are now believed to be dead after a devastating US Air Force B-52 Stratofortress bomber crash at Edwards Air Force Base, California — CNN
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) June 15, 2026
It was on a routine test mission, and crashed shortly after takeoff.
Rest in peace, heroes and patriots pic.twitter.com/Xfj41RPLKw
The military base has launched an interim safety board to gather initial facts that then lead to a safety investigation. The entire process could take up to six months, Hayes said.
Emergency crews respond immediately after aircraft goes down
Emergency crews responded immediately after the crash but the air base said in an earlier social media post that initial indications were that "the crash was not survivable."
The entire airfield was closed and all inbound flights were diverted after the aircraft went down at the base.
Official release regarding today's B-52 crash at Edwards. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and unit members at this time.
— Edwards Air Force Base (@EdwardsAFB) June 15, 2026
More information will be released as it becomes available. pic.twitter.com/410V2gqCFv
The crew onboard were engaged in routine test mission before the disaster.
The cause of the crash is under investigation.
Edwards Air Force Base is about 100 miles (161 kilometers) north of Los Angeles and is home to a large portion of the Air Force's aircraft's secretive test efforts.
What's a B-52 bomber?
The aircraft that went down was a Boeing B-52 bomber, officially known as the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress.
The jets, typically crewed by five people, entered service in 1995.
The B-52 was engineered to provide the US with a significant advantage in strategic nuclear capabilities during the Cold War, particularly against the Soviet Union, which at the time did not possess an intercontinental bomber.
Designed to carry both conventional and nuclear weapons, it has been used in conflicts ranging from the Vietnam War to recent operations in the Middle East.
