Eight people who were on board a United States Air Force B-52 Stratofortress died after the plane crashed shortly after takeoff at Edwards Air Force Base Monday morning.
Edwards Air Force Base wrote in a news release that “initial indications are that the crash was not survivable.” At an afternoon news conference, the deaths were confirmed. “Today, Edwards Air Force Base experienced a terrible tragedy and we lost eight great Americans,” Col. James Hayes said.
A mixed crew of military personnel, government civilians, and government contractors supporting a test mission for a radar modernization program was on board the aircraft. Boeing confirmed that two company employees were among those on board.
“We are in contact with their families and are offering support,” Boeing wrote in a news release.
Aerial footage taken shortly after the crash showed a large smoldering burn mark on the land.
The aircraft was on a routine test mission at Edwards airfield, located in the western Mojave Desert, about 100 miles northeast of Los Angeles. It went down at about 11:20 a.m. local time, crashing and bursting into flames. “After reviewing the footage of the crash, it was deemed that this was an unrecoverable crash, and unsurvivable,” Hayes said, noting next of kin notifications are underway.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family members. This is a tragedy,” Hayes said.
The airfield is closed and all inbound aircraft are being diverted, base officials said in an earlier statement.
“All non-commercial visitor passes have been suspended until further notice to allow the installation to focus entirely on emergency response operations. We will continue to update as more information is confirmed,” the statement said.
‘We won’t be able to release that information, and we don’t have an ability to get that any time soon,” Hayes said.
It was not immediately clear what caused the crash, and it could take up to six months to complete an investigation, Hayes said, but shared that the B-52 was supporting the “radar modernization program.”
The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is a long-range bomber that entered service in 1955. Designed to carry both conventional and nuclear weapons, it has been used in conflicts involving the U.S. military from Vietnam to Iran.
In 2025, Boeing sent a B-52 to Edwards with a new, modernized radar system. A test team planned to conduct ground and flight test activities on the aircraft throughout 2026 to feed a production decision, the air force said in a 2025 news release. The modern Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar system replaced the aircraft’s antiquated radar for efficacy. It was unclear if that was the same aircraft involved in Monday’s crash.
Edwards Air Force Base is home to a large portion of the U.S. Air Force’s aircraft test and development efforts and is about 100 miles (161 km) north of Los Angeles. The 412th Test Wing, which runs the base, also conducts developmental testing of all Air Force aircraft, weapons systems, software and components before purchase by the service as well as throughout their lifespan.
Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said he is deeply saddened by the lives lost.
“We mourn this loss and honor the service of our Airmen, civilians, and contractors who work every day to advance our mission,” he said in a post on X.
“May GOD shepard the souls of these incredible Americans — and watch over their families,” US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, wrote on X.
@CBS News
