The tragic incident occurred on Monday, June 15, at the Edwards Air Force Base, which is around 85 miles north of Los Angeles
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NEED TO KNOW
- A B-52 bomber crashed shortly after takeoff at Edwards Air Force Base in California, killing all eight people onboard
- The victims included military personnel, government civilians and contractors, with two confirmed as Boeing employees
- Col. James Hayes said that the base had “experienced a horrible tragedy and we lost eight great Americans”
Eight people have died after a B-52 bomber crashed shortly after takeoff at a U.S. Air Force base in California.
A Monday, June 15, press release from the Edwards Air Force Base said that an “Air Force B-52 Stratofortress carrying eight people on a routine test mission crashed today shortly after take-off” at 11:20 a.m. local time.
“Initial indications are that the crash was not survivable,” the release continued, adding that emergency personnel were on the scene and the crash is under investigation.
In a press conference shared by CBS News, Colonel James Hayes said that the base had “experienced a horrible tragedy and we lost eight great Americans.”
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“This crash is deemed to be unsurvivable and right now our thoughts and prayers are with the families of those that lost their loved ones,” Hayes continued. “We’re sending teams out to notify the next of kin right now as we speak and those next of kin notifications will take place over the coming hours and the remainder of the day.”
He added that the aircraft crashed “immediately after takeoff” and “burst into flames.”
“Our team of first responders snapped into action and took appropriate action to put out the flames,” Hayes said.
“After reviewing the footage of the crash, it was deemed that this was an unrecoverable and unsurvivable crash,” he continued, adding that the scene of the crash could be described as “tragic.”
Credit: Yasin Demirci/Anadolu via Getty
Footage from the crash scene showed thick, black smoke billowing from the airfield.
“This is tragedy and this is going to be the worst day of their lives and we want to keep them in our thoughts and prayers,” he continued of the next of kin of those who died, adding that onboard was a "mixed crew of military, government civilians and government contractors"
In a press release, Boeing, who designed and built the aircraft, confirmed that two of those onboard were employees of Boeing.
“We extend our deepest condolences to the loved ones of the eight crew members who lost their lives in the B-52 crash at Edwards Air Force Base, California,” the releas read. “It is with great sadness that we confirm two Boeing employees were among those on board. We are in contact with their families and are offering support.”
The names of those onboard will be shared 24 hours after the next-of-kin notification,” Hayes said, per the press conference.
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The colonel said that the cause of the crash was currently unknown and that it could take up to 30 days to determine, while further investigations into the root cause could take more than six months.
Hayes added that the crash was “totally contained” within the air force base.
An earlier post on Facebook from the base, whih is around 85 miles north of Los Angeles, said that the airfield had been closed and all inbound aircraft had been diverted while emergency crews continued to respond to the situation.
“Additionally, 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.”
In a post on X, California Gov. Gavin Newsom paid tribute to the victims and said his thoughts were with them, their families and “the entire Edwards Air Force Base community impacted by this tragic incident.”
“Grateful to the first responders and emergency crew currently on the ground,” Newsom added,
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