A fatal crash occurred Monday, June 15th, at Edwards Air Force Base in Kern County, killing the crew members on board.
The aircraft was conducting a routine test mission and was carrying 8 people:
Weapon systems officers Col. Gregory Watson (53), Col. Gabriel Estrella (40) and Maj. Alexander Davis (34); pilots Maj. Robert Dee (40), Maj. Brad Hovey (35) and retired Lt. Col. Miles Middleton (50); and flight test engineers Jeromy Smith (32) and Christopher Rischar (41).
Shortly after takeoff, the sixty-year-old B-52 Stratofortress crashed at 11:20 a.m., killing its eight crew members, the first crash of a B-52 since 2016, and the deadliest since 1982.
Tuesday, Rep. George Whitesides (D-Santa Clarita) led the House of Representatives in a moment of silence with Rep. Vince Fong (R-Bakersfield) to pay tribute to the eight men who lost their lives in the tragic crash at Edwards Air Force Base.
“The eight crewmembers who lost their lives last week were heroes… our prayers are with their families, their friends, their loved ones,” Whitesides stated in his speech. “The B-52, which had the tail number 60-0061 and flew under the call sign Torch 11, was meant to conduct a test sortie on June 15 in support of the bomber’s radar modernization program,” according to Air and Space Forces Magazine.
“Immediately after takeoff, the bomber crashed and was swiftly engulfed in flames. The deputy commander of the 412th Test Wing at Edwards, Col James Hayes, said it was immediately clear the crash was not survivable.”
According to the base spokesman Chase Kohler, “The safety investigation into the crash is ongoing, but the base does not expect that investigation to lead to any restrictions on flight operations.”
Tributes and memorials are being held across the entire B-52 community, the Air Force, and Boeing, and “more than 700 people gathered at Edwards’ chapel on June 17, where they lit candles in honor of the crew who died,” according to Kohler.
