A US military B-52 Stratofortress bomber crashed shortly after takeoff from Edwards Air Force Base in southern California's Mojave Desert. All eight crew members aboard were presumed to have been killed, air base officials said in a statement released on Monday.
Details of the Crash
The eight-engine, jet-powered Boeing aircraft, built to carry nuclear and conventional bombs, was on a routine test mission when it went down. Aerial video footage of the crash scene, about 100 miles (161km) north of Los Angeles, showed a charred, smoldering patch of the desert floor roughly the size of a football field as an emergency vehicle was seen driving along the site's perimeter.
Response and Investigation
Emergency crews responded to the scene, and an investigation into the cause of the crash has been initiated. The identities of the crew members have not been released pending notification of next of kin.
This tragic incident marks a significant loss for the US Air Force, as the B-52 has been a cornerstone of America's strategic bomber fleet for decades.
