Eight crew members are believed dead after an Air Force B-52 bomber crashed shortly after takeoff from Edwards Air Force Base in California on Monday.
Emergency responders rushed to the scene after the aircraft went down around 11:20 a.m. local time during what officials described as a “routine test mission.”
“An Air Force B-52 Stratofortress carrying eight people on a routine test mission crashed today shortly after takeoff at 11:20 a.m. (PDT),” Edwards Air Force Base said in a social media statement. “Initial indications are that the crash was not survivable.”
Edwards Air Force Base did not immediately respond to a request for comments.
Images from the crash showed a large plume of black smoke rising from the base.
Edwards Air Force Base posted on X that it has closed operations and diverted incoming aircraft as of 12:48 pm local time.
Edwards Air Force Base is home to some of the military’s most advanced flight-testing programs, including the Air Force Test Center and Test Pilot School. The 480 square-mile base in Kern County was where pilot Chuck Yeager broke the speed of sound in 1947.
The Boeing-made B-52 Stratofortress first entered service in the 1950s and remains a key part of the Air Force’s bomber fleet. The aircraft has been used in conflicts in the Middle East, including recently against Iran.
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