The eight individuals aboard the B-52 Stratofortress that crashed early Monday at Edwards Air Force Base, California, were killed, U.S. Air Force officials confirmed.
Gen. Ken Wilsbach, the Air Force chief of staff, said in a social media post Monday night that the force is grieving the loss of the individuals involved.
“It is with profound sadness that we mourn the loss of eight teammates today at Edwards AFB,” Wilsbach said in the post. “My thoughts are with the bomber and test communities during this difficult time.”
Air Force Secretary Troy Meink also lamented the deaths in a public statement, saying, “We mourn this loss and honor the service of our Airmen, civilians, and contractors who work every day to advance our mission.”
At 11:20 a.m. local time, or 2:20 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, the bomber aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff for a routine test mission and burst into flames, according to service officials. Initial indications of the crash were that it was not survivable.
Emergency personnel responded immediately to the scene, and as of late Monday were still working to account for all personnel, alongside base officials.
At a Monday afternoon news conference, Air Force officials said they were still attempting to locate personnel, as well as the aircraft’s black box, which could be used in the investigation of the incident.
The individuals on board were not all service members, Edwards Deputy Commander Col. James Hayes said at the news conference. The eight were a mix of military personnel, government civilians and contractors.
The crashed B-52 was in support of the radar modernization program, Hayes said.
The cause of the incident is still unknown, and it is currently under investigation by an interim safety board. The investigation will be taken over by a Safety Investigation Board that will determine the cause and will be followed by an Accident Investigation Board that will determine what information can be revealed to the public and next of kin.
The Air Force has yet to reveal the identities of the eight individuals. Teams were in the process of notifying family members by Monday afternoon.
Cristina Stassis is a reporter covering stories surrounding the defense industry, national security, military/veteran affairs and more. She previously worked as an editorial fellow for Defense News in 2024 where she assisted the newsroom in breaking news across Sightline Media Group.