A US Air Force B-52 Stratofortress bomber crashed on Monday shortly after taking off from Edwards Air Force Base in the Mojave Desert of Southern California. All eight people on board were killed. Speaking at a press conference, Air Force Colonel James Hayes said the aircraft was on a routine test mission when the crash happened.
Colonel Hayes said the cause of the crash has not yet been determined. He added that the aircraft’s “mixed crew” included government civilians, contractors and uniformed military personnel. The B-52 is an eight-engine, jet-powered bomber designed to carry both nuclear and conventional weapons.
Emergency Response Underway
Aerial footage from the crash site, around 100 miles (161km) north of Los Angeles, showed a large burnt and smouldering area of desert ground, bigger than a football field. An emergency vehicle could be seen driving around the edge of the site. No large pieces of wreckage were clearly visible in the footage.
“Emergency crews immediately responded to the scene and the situation is ongoing,” the base wrote in a post on X. The base said in an official alert on X that the bomber crashed “shortly after takeoff on the Edwards airfield at 11:20 am,”.
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About the B-52 Stratofortress
The B-52 Stratofortress was designed and built by Boeing. According to the US military, it is a long-range, subsonic aircraft that has served for decades as a key part of America’s strategic bomber fleet. The swept-wing aircraft can carry a wide range of weapons, including cluster bombs, gravity bombs, precision-guided missiles and nuclear warheads. According to an Air Force fact sheet, it can operate at altitudes of up to 50,000 feet (15,166 metres).
In conventional military operations, the B-52 can carry out strategic attacks, close air support missions, air interdiction, offensive counter-air operations and maritime missions.
First published on: Jun 16, 2026 09:58 AM IST
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