A routine test flight turned deadly in a matter of moments when a US B-52 bomber crashed and exploded in flames just after takeoff from a California air base, killing all eight people aboard, officials said.
The aircraft went down at Edwards Air Force Base, 95km north of Los Angeles, while carrying a mix of military personnel, government staff and civilian contractors on what officials described as a standard testing mission.
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Video from the scene underscored the scale of the devastation. Officials called the crash “unsurvivable,” and footage showed a broad, blackened stretch of ground where almost nothing appeared to be left of the Boeing-built bomber.
“Edwards Air Force Base suffered a terrible tragedy, and we lost eight great Americans,” Colonel James Hayes told reporters at the base.
“The aircraft took off and, almost immediately after departure, crashed and caught fire,” he said, adding that emergency crews responded at once but quickly realized there was no chance of finding survivors.
“After reviewing the footage of the crash, it was determined this was an unrecoverable accident and unsurvivable.”
Colonel James Hayes said the aircraft crashed almost immediately after takeoff
In the hours after the wreck, the airfield was shut down and incoming flights were redirected, the base said on social media.
Boeing said two of the dead were company employees and offered condolences to the families of all eight victims.
The B-52 is a long-serving heavy bomber that first flew in 1954 and was initially built for a potential conflict with the Soviet Union.
Successive upgrades have kept the aircraft in operation for decades beyond the end of the Cold War.
The B-52 first entered the skies in 1954 (File image)
The enormous bomber — capable of carrying a wide range of weapons, including bombs and cruise missiles — has a wingspan of 56 metres and measures 48 metres in length.
It is typically flown by a crew of five: an aircraft commander, a pilot, a radar navigator, a navigator and an electronic warfare officer, according to a US Air Force fact sheet.
The aircraft can also be equipped to carry a nuclear payload.
The United States has used the bomber in conflicts in Vietnam, the Gulf, Iraq, Afghanistan and, most recently, in Iran.
