Overview
- A B-52 Stratofortress crashed shortly after takeoff from Edwards Air Force Base on Monday, June 15, at about 11:20 a.m. local time, according to base statements and military briefings.
- The U.S. military confirmed eight people on board were killed and said initial examinations of crash images showed no chance of survival for occupants.
- The flight was a routine test mission that carried military personnel, government representatives, civilians and two Boeing employees, the company and the military said.
- Emergency crews secured a large burn area at the desert test site, helicopter footage showed heavy black smoke, and Edwards closed its airfield with incoming flights diverted for emergency operations.
- A formal military investigation is under way with causes not yet determined, families being notified before public release of names, and officials warning that technical inquiries into a decades-old B-52 model can take time.