Air Force B-52 bomber crashes after takeoff, killing 8

An Air Force B-52 Stratofortress crashed shortly after takeoff in California today, killing all 8 people on board.

The airplane crashed shortly after taking off from Edwards Air Force Base at around noon.

“An Air Force B-52 Stratofortress carrying eight people on a routine mission crashed shortly after take-off,” base officials said in a statement. “Initial indications are that the crash was not survivable. Emergency response personnel are on scene.”

Base officials did not release the names of any of the crewmembers but added that more information will be released as the investigation continues. Officials said “our thoughts and prayers are with the families and unit members at this time.”

Edwards Air Force Base features the longest paved runway in North America (Runway 05R/23L, which is over 15,000 feet long).

Edwards Air Force Base is where Captain Chuck Yeager first broke the sound barrier in 1947 in the Bell X-1. Because of its massive natural landing strips, the base hosted the first landings of the Space Shuttle. 

The base is located in the Mojave Desert adjacent to Rogers Dry Lake, a 65-square-mile natural clay playa. Its unusually flat surface has long been used as an emergency landing strip and natural extension of the paved runways.