A B-52 strategic bomber has crashed in the US state of California, US media reported on 15 June, publishing footage of the wreckage engulfed in flames.
The US Air Force later confirmed that all eight people on board had been killed.
According to official reports, the aircraft, which was carrying out a routine test mission, crashed almost immediately after take-off from Edwards Air Force Base and fell within the airfield’s boundaries.
Air Force Colonel James Gaze told a press conference a few hours after the tragedy that the ‘mixed crew’ on board the aircraft consisted of government civilians, government contractors and military personnel. Aerospace giant Boeing, which designed and built the aircraft, reported that two of its employees were among the fatalities.
The cause of the crash has not yet been disclosed.
The B-52 is a heavy long-range bomber capable of carrying nuclear munitions; the first such aircraft entered service with the US Air Force in the 1950s. Several B-52s took part in the recent campaign against Iran.
Earlier that same day, 15 June, a Tu-22M3 bomber crashed in Russia’s Irkutsk Region. It was reported that the pilots had survived.
A B-52 bomber crashed in the US, killing eight people