Fresh details are emerging about the final moments of a fatal B-52 Stratofortress crash at Edwards Air Force Base on June 15, 2026, with officials confirming that all eight people aboard were killed and that the bomber was supporting a radar modernization test mission.
The aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff from Edwards at about 11:20 local time. The base initially said the aircraft was on a routine flight test mission and that the crash “was not survivable.”
Col. James Hayes, Deputy Commander of the 412th Test Wing at Edwards, later confirmed that all eight people aboard were killed.
“Edwards Air Force Base experienced a horrible tragedy, and we lost eight great Americans,” Hayes said during a news conference.
The crew included uniformed military personnel, government civilians and contractors. Boeing confirmed that two of its employees were among those killed.
The Air Force had not released the names of the victims as of June 17, pending notification of next of kin. Local reports, citing family members, have identified two of the victims as Lt. Col. Miles Middleton and Jeromy Smith, a Department of Defense civilian flight-test engineer.
The B-52 was conducting a test mission tied to the bomber’s radar modernization program, Hayes said.
The Air Force is replacing the B-52’s older radar with an active electronically scanned array system as part of a broader effort to keep the bomber in service into the 2050s.
Boeing ferried a radar-modified B-52 to Edwards from its San Antonio facility in December 2025 for ground and flight testing, though the Air Force has not publicly confirmed whether that aircraft was the one involved in the crash.
Initial reports based on flight-tracking data had suggested the aircraft may have been airborne for three minutes and turned back toward the runway, but that account appears to have been based on erroneous flight tracking data.
According to corrected accounts, the B-52 took off from Edwards toward the southwest, flew straight and crashed almost immediately on the same 15,000-foot runway. The compact wreckage suggested the aircraft dropped sharply.
The cause of the crash remains unknown. Officials have said the investigation will take several months.
Unlike a civil aircraft accident investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), an Air Force mishap is not likely to produce a quick public preliminary report. The Air Force normally conducts a safety investigation for mishap-prevention purposes and an Accident Investigation Board that can release a public report later.
Emergency crews responded immediately after the crash. Edwards’ airfield remained closed as crews worked to secure the crash site, according to AP. Fires flared overnight after the accident.
The B-52H is the only version of the Stratofortress still in US Air Force service. Boeing built the current H-model fleet in the early 1960s, but the bomber remains central to US long-range strike and nuclear deterrence missions.
The Air Force plans to keep the B-52 flying for decades through major modernization work. In addition to the radar upgrade, the service is preparing to replace the aircraft’s eight Pratt & Whitney TF33 engines with Rolls-Royce F130 engines, a separate program that will lead to the B-52J designation.
The crash is the first loss of a B-52 since 2016, when a B-52H crashed during an aborted takeoff at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam. The crew in that accident survived.
7 comments
I was a B-52 pilot during the Vietnam era and flew F models at Mather AFB, D models were all at the big island base in the Pacific and were used to bomb Vietnam, and the last model was the really best, the H model I flew up at Kincheloe which are the only ones left flying, B-52s had a huge wing with the also huge Flaps on the right and left sides. They had to be full down before takeoff roll and retracted before over-speeding them at 220 knts. I remember one accident when the checklist was overlooked and they took off without the flaps full down, They could not recover and crashed!
A video I saw showed the take-off roll to a point where it lifted off, pretty-much flatly maybe even slightly nose down like BUF’s do. But then, within a second two or two it touched down, as if to continue accelerating, then in a 1/2 second or so it lifted off, remaining airborne for maybe 2 seconds, gained maybe 20 feet of altitude. Then, almost immediately the right wing stared to drop, a spoiler extended, the plane seemed to hang there, and suddenly slightly.., slightly, nose down, it just dropped to the ground, There was no glide, it just dropped and blew up on impact. My interpretation of what I viewed is that the pilot had an engine anomally which caused him to settle back down after his initial lift off, but somehow seemed to recover so that he elected to continue knowing that he didn’t have enough runway to abort and get stopped on. I believe the video I saw may have been impounded, and none of us will see it again. But, I saw it, and I have a lot of time around the BUF.
When you read the description of the B-52 from Google, remember the C-130 E models from the same 1962 era as those “BUFFs” were all retired in by the 1990’s after stress fractures were gradually discovered in the wings. I was a C-130 loadmaster with 3,000 hours over eight years in “E” models from the Vietnam Era. There were five C-130 crashes with fatalities in the year I started flying as a “Herc” loadmaster. I got out of flying before we received the C-130 “J” models. It was like selling an old VW bug and replacing it with a Rolls Royce. In fact, Rolls Royce makes the new engines for the C-130J. At 75 years old, a jet is worn out. How many more Airmen will lose their lives in these tragic accidents before the USAF retires the “BUFF” for good and designs a new jet? Google AI states: “at least 15 to 20 major non-combat B-52 crashes where crew error, pilot error, or spatial disorientation was determined to be the primary cause.” Big Ugly Fat Fucker “BUFF.”
How did an experienced pilot turn a B-52 into such a steep bank, so close to the ground ? The B-52 is noted for side slipping downward in a steep bank. Looked like a flight control system failure and/or multiple engine failures?
I was with B52 starting in 1957.with the 6th Bomb Win presently follow the curent investigation at Edward AFB. reading all reports. My opinion is that a control. Cable may snap. The pilot are well trained . Maintenance is required by number of hours flying. Let wait for investigation
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It is quite risky in these ancient planes but deemed necessary for defense. I for one know we can do better with
safety and we have the know how and the means for new bombers. As well as they have performed they are
very old with many flight hours and tragic results for families and friends of eight.
As a child, I visited Homestead AFB where many of the B-52s were based. I am now 77 years old, worn out and quite certain these planes are too.