((Automated translation by Reuters using machine learning and generative AI, please refer to the following disclaimer: https://bit.ly/rtrsauto)) (Adds background information on the Stratofortress plane, first accident of this bomber since 2016, paragraphs 6 to 12) by Steve Gorman and Phil Stewart
A US Air Force B-52 Stratofortress bomber, designed to carry nuclear and conventional weapons, crashed Monday shortly after takeoff from Edwards Air Force Base in the Mojave Desert in Southern California. indicated the base.
Aerial footage of the crash scene, about 100 miles (161 km) north of Los Angeles, showed a charred, smoldering area of desert soil the size of a football field, as an emergency vehicle drove along the perimeter of the crash. site.
No large debris was visible to the naked eye in the images.
“Emergency teams immediately responded to the scene and the situation is still ongoing,” the base said in a message published on X.
The eight-engine jet bomber crashed “shortly after takeoff from Edwards Airfield at 11:20 a.m.,” the base said in its official X alert.
There was no immediate information regarding the number of crew members on board the plane, the presence of any survivors or the nature of their mission at that time. The aircraft typically carries a crew of around five people.
The Stratofortress, designed and built by Boeing BA.N, is a long-range subsonic aircraft that has long been the backbone of the United States’ manned strategic bomber force, according to the U.S. military.
This swept-wing aircraft is capable of carrying nuclear munitions and conventional precision-guided munitions, including cluster bombs and gravity bombs, to altitudes of up to 50,000 feet (15,166 meters), according to an Air Force fact sheet.
In a conventional conflict, the B-52 can conduct strategic attack, close air support, air interdiction, counter-air offensive and maritime operations, the fact sheet states.
Monday’s incident marks the first crash of a B-52 Stratofortress since a bomber of the same type crashed on the island of Guam in May 2016, according to the Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archive, a Geneva-based organization that collects data on air accidents around the world. All seven crew members on board this aircraft survived.
The Air Force and Pentagon initially declined to comment on Monday’s crash beyond what the base reported online. Base officials could not immediately be reached for additional comment.
Only the B-52 H model remains in the Air Force inventory; He is assigned to the 5th Bombardment Wing at Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, and the 2nd Bombardment Wing at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana – both under Air Force Global Strike Command – as well as the 307th Bombardment Wing at Air Force Command. reserve in Barksdale, according to the Army.
