B-52 crash – A B-52 bomber crashed shortly after takeoff Monday at Edwards Air Force Base in Southern California’s Mojave Desert, bursting into flames and killing all eight people aboard, officials said. The aircraft was supporting a radar modernization program, and an inv
A little after 11 a.m. a B-52 bomber left the runway at Edwards Air Force Base in California’s Mojave Desert and never made it into the sky. Nearly everyone aboard was lost when the aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff. burst into flames. and burned at the base near the runway. according to military officials.
Around 11:20 a.m. Monday, the bomber went down during what was described as a routine test mission, authorities said. Aerial footage showed black smoke rising from a large swath of charred desert, while emergency vehicles moved near the scene.
Edwards officials later confirmed that all eight people aboard died. “We lost eight great Americans,” Col. James Hayes, the deputy commander for the 412 test wing at Edwards Air Force Base, said at a news conference. Hayes said officials had begun working to notify the victims’ families and added that a review of the footage showed that “no one could have survived.”.
The passengers and crew included government contractors and uniformed military, Hayes said. Boeing, the aircraft’s manufacturer, confirmed Monday evening that two of its employees were on board.
After reviewing the crash video and other information, Hayes said it could take up to six months to complete the investigation, and he stressed that officials did not yet know what caused the crash. The B-52, he said, was supporting the “radar modernization program.”
The aircraft involved was a Boeing B-52 Stratofortress, a long-range bomber that has been in service since 1955. The Air Force has used the B-52 in conflicts involving the U.S. military from Vietnam to Iran, and the aircraft is designed to carry both conventional and nuclear weapons.
Boeing sent a B-52 to Edwards in 2025 with a new. modernized radar system. according to a 2025 news release from the Air Force included in Monday’s background. A test team planned to conduct ground and flight test activities throughout 2026 to feed a production decision, the release said. That modern radar system is the Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA), which replaced the aircraft’s antiquated radar for efficacy. It was unclear if the same aircraft involved in Monday’s crash was the one updated with that radar.
Edwards Air Force Base. located about 100 miles (161 km) north of Los Angeles. is home to a large portion of U.S. Air Force aircraft testing and development. The 412th Test Wing that runs the base conducts developmental testing of Air Force aircraft. weapons systems. software. and components before purchase and throughout the service’s lifespan. The base is also where Air Force test pilot Chuck Yeager reached a speed of Mach 1.05 and broke the sound barrier in 1947.
For much of Monday, the base airfield was closed. Inbound aircraft were being diverted, but it reopened to people coming onto the base by late afternoon. Non-commercial visitor passes were suspended as emergency crews doused the flames.
Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said he was “deeply saddened by the lives lost.” In a post on X, he wrote: “We mourn this loss and honor the service of our Airmen, civilians, and contractors who work every day to advance our mission.”
Aviation safety expert Jeff Guzzetti said the way the B-52 crashed so quickly after takeoff—without getting very high or going far—made him suspect a flight control malfunction. He said it was possible the controls were rigged wrong after maintenance. or that a catastrophic engine problem or a failure of equipment being tested could have played a role.
“I think it was definitely a controllability issue. Now. whether that was tied to an engine failure. a flight control failure. or some new testing device failure. I’m not sure. ” Guzzetti said. He said he previously investigated crashes for both the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board.
Guzzetti said testing new equipment on a plane can create new challenges. and he pointed to the added risk that comes with flight tests. “A flight test is always riskier than normal operations. so that’s why you have specially trained test pilots. and you should have other safety protocols. ” he said.
The crash came after other deadly Air Force training accidents in recent years. including the death of an instructor pilot in 2024 in Texas when the ejection seat activated while the aircraft was still on the ground; and the death of an Air Force ROTC cadet in 2022 in a Humvee crash during a training exercise in Idaho. Two Air Force pilots were also killed when a trainer jet crashed near an Alabama airport in 2021.
As officials continue to review what happened in the Mojave Desert, the reopened base and suspended visitor access reflect how quickly a routine test can turn into tragedy—leaving eight families waiting for answers, and an investigation that could last months.
Edwards Air Force Base B-52 crash Mojave Desert radar modernization program 412th Test Wing Boeing Troy Meink Jeff Guzzetti
Routine test and it still explodes… like how is that routine. So sad.
Wait so was it on a test mission for radar stuff, or like did it malfunction because of the desert heat? I saw “shortly after takeoff” and immediately thought bird strike. Either way RIP to the crew.
My cousin said Boeing always cuts corners and then this happens, but who knows. Six months to investigate sounds like they already know and are just dragging it out. Also they said no one survived—so was it before impact or after it started burning?
Edwards AFB again… seems like that place is always in the news. If it left the runway and never made it into the sky, doesn’t that mean a fire started on the runway? Radar modernization program… like are they saying the equipment caused it or the plane just decided to crash? Sad either way, but I’ll believe something when they stop saying “not yet known.”