2026 United States Air Force Boeing B-52 crash
Boeing B-52H Stratofortress · Crashed shortly after takeoff; under investigation
From Edwards Air Force Base (EDW) to an unrecorded destination
Event
- Event typeAccident: someone killed or seriously injured, or the aircraft substantially damaged (NTSB definition). Incident: an occurrence that affected or could have affected safety, short of that. Glossary
- Accident
- Event fatalities
- 8 · all aircraft and ground
- Ground fatalities
- Unknown
- Occupants
- 8
- Survivors
- 0
- InjuriesFatal: death within 30 days. Serious: over 48 hours in hospital within a week, most broken bones, severe bleeding, nerve or organ damage, or serious burns. Minor: anything less. Glossary
- Unknown
- OperationWhat kind of flying it was, grouped by the rules it flew under: airline (US Part 121), air taxi and commuter (Part 135), general aviation (Part 91 and similar), military or government. Glossary
- Military
Boeing B-52H Stratofortress
- Aircraft type
- Boeing B-52
- Category
- Airplane · from aircraft type
- RegistrationThe aircraft's tail number, such as N12345 or G-ABCD. Registrations are reissued, so the same one years apart can be a different aircraft. Glossary
- 60-0061
- Operator
- United States Air Force
- Onboard fatalities
- 8
- Route
- From Edwards Air Force Base (EDW)To not recorded
Approximate · Estimated position: Edwards Air Force Base, the airport the Wikipedia article names as the site. Where on or near it is not known.
From the Wikipedia article
On June 15, 2026, a United States Air Force Boeing B-52 Stratofortress strategic bomber crashed shortly after takeoff near Edwards Air Force Base in Edwards, California, United States. All eight crew members were killed.
The accident was the first crash of a B-52 since 2016, when one crashed at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam, injuring the seven crew members. It is also the deadliest crash of a B-52 since 1982, when one crashed at Mather Air Force Base in Sacramento County, California, killing all nine crew members.
Accident
The crash was reported at 11:20 a.m. PDT. Photos from the scene showed little recognizable wreckage after a post-crash fire, and video footage showed a large plume of black smoke rising from the crash site.
Investigation and cause
Investigation
The cause of the crash was not immediately known. Colonel James Hayes, Deputy Commander of the 412th Test Wing, said the investigation could take an estimated six months.
Text from the Wikipedia article “2026 United States Air Force Boeing B-52 crash” (revision 1363980779, retrieved 2026-09-18) by its authors, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Extracted as plain text: references, tables, images and some sections are left out. Read the article
Sources
Wikipedia article: 2026 United States Air Force Boeing B-52 crash
- Revision
- 1363980779 · 2026-07-13 · retrieved 2026-09-18
- Wikidata
- Q140236513
- Licence
- Text CC BY-SA 4.0, by the article's authors; Wikidata CC0; town positions GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)
Where each value comes from
- Record
- Wikipedia article "2026 United States Air Force Boeing B-52 crash" (page 83462053, revision 1363980779)
- Date
- Wikipedia infobox: date
- Place and country
- Wikipedia infobox: site
- Map position
- airport the Wikipedia infobox site links (Wikidata code, OurAirports)
- Aircraft, operator and route
- Wikipedia infobox: aircraft type, registration, operator, origin and destination; route airports from the linked airport articles' Wikidata codes (OurAirports)
- Operation
- operator named as an armed force or military unit in the infobox
- Fatalities
- Wikipedia infobox: aircraft fatalities
- Ground fatalities
- not stated in the Wikipedia infobox
- Summary
- Wikipedia infobox: summary
Source notes (1)
- Wikipedia · Facts from the Wikipedia article's infobox and coordinates, not checked against an investigation report. Independent review pending.