A US Air Force B-52 strategic bomber crashed shortly after taking off from Edwards Air Force Base in California, leaving 8 people on board believed to have no chance of survival.
According to the announcement of Testing Air Crew No. 412, the B-52 aircraft carrying 8 people participating in a routine test mission crashed after taking off at 11:20 am on June 15 (local time). This unit said that initial signs indicate that no one on board could survive. Emergency forces have been deployed to the scene to conduct search and personnel counting.
Colonel James Hayes, Deputy Commander of Flight Team 412, said the B-52 crashed while participating in a radar modernization project. He said the cause of the accident has not yet been determined and the investigation process could last up to 6 months.
According to Mr. Hayes, the flight crew includes soldiers, government employees and contractors supporting the testing program. After assessing the scene images, authorities determined that the pilot could not save the plane and it is likely that there are no survivors. Information is being made to the families of the victims.
The Air Force Amn/Nco/Snco account specializing in publishing documents about the US Air Force previously published images believed to be from the scene, showing a large fire and a column of smoke rising high in the base area.
According to the military website War Zone, the B-52 can carry up to 8 people, including 6 crew members and 2 passengers. He said this could be the most serious casualty accident at Edwards Air Force Base since the B-50D bomber crash that killed 8 people in 1951.
B-52H, the B-52 version that crashed, is equipped with 6 escape seats, of which 4 seats are launched upwards and 2 seats are launched downwards. The two auxiliary seats do not have the ability to escape with launch seats.
Edwards Air Force Base is home to NASA's Air Force Testing Center, Air Force Testing Pilot School and Armstrong Flight Research Center. This is the focal point for research, development and testing of US aerospace systems.
The B-52 is a US strategic aircraft, developed in the 1940s and officially commissioned in 1955. The US Air Force currently maintains 72 to 76 B-52Hs. Boeing is also developing an upgraded version of the B-52J to extend the service life of this aircraft line.
