A U.S. Air Force B-52 Stratofortress crashed Monday after taking off from a California base and burst into flames, according to service officials, with the eight individuals on board presumed dead.
The aircraft crashed shortly after its takeoff on Edwards Air Force Base at 11:20 a.m. local time, according to a base announcement.
The B-52 was carrying eight people on a routine test mission in support of the radar modernization program, according to the Air Force.
Initial indications are that the crash was not survivable, the service said, and officials were working late Monday to account for all personnel with the emergency response crew on scene.
The individuals on board were not all service members, Edwards Deputy Commander Col. James Hayes said at a Monday news conference. Those presumed dead in the crash include military personnel, government civilians and contractors.
Hayes declined to offer more details on the individuals, saying that teams were in the process of notifying family members.
The service did not have any indication as to the cause of the crash Monday, but the base is standing up an interim safety board to gather initial facts, Hayes told reporters. A Safety Investigation Board will then investigate the cause, which will take about 30 days.
An Accident Investigation Board will then commence a six-month process to determine what information can be released to the public and next of kin, he said.
Emergency responders first worked to dispel the flames from the crash. Then, it turned into a recovery operation that included searching for the aircraft’s black box that will be used in the investigation.
Roughly an hour and a half after the crash, Edwards closed the airfield and began diverting all inbound aircraft, according to a social media post.
“All non-commercial visitor passes have been suspended until further notice to allow the installation to focus entirely on emergency response operations,” the post reads.
Hayes said that the base is terminating operations for Tuesday, also, because of runway damage.
The Air Force has used the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress in various operations dating back to Vietnam.
Most recently, the aircraft flew missions as part of Operation Epic Fury against Iran, where the bomber carried out long-range air strikes targeting ballistic missile facilities and command-and-control infrastructure.
The B-52 is the Air Force’s oldest bomber in service and could potentially become the first military aircraft to remain in service for a century.
Cristina Stassis is a reporter covering stories surrounding the defense industry, national security, military/veteran affairs and more. She previously worked as an editorial fellow for Defense News in 2024 where she assisted the newsroom in breaking news across Sightline Media Group.
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