# 2026 United States Air Force Boeing B-52 crash
The 2026 United States Air Force Boeing B-52 crash was a fatal accident in which a Boeing B-52H Stratofortress bomber crashed shortly after takeoff at [Edwards Air Force Base](https://www.edgepedia.org/edwards-air-force-base), California, on June 15, 2026, during a radar modernization test mission, killing all eight people on board.[1](https://www.edwards.af.mil/News/Display/Article/4517897/b-52-crashes-at-edwards-air-force-base/) • [2](https://apnews.com/article/ea237a6eec587adbbf9e7a578014ca93)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Date and place | June 15, 2026, about 11:20 a.m. local time, on the Edwards Air Force Base airfield in the Mojave Desert[1](https://www.edwards.af.mil/News/Display/Article/4517897/b-52-crashes-at-edwards-air-force-base/) • [3](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jun/16/us-air-force-b52-bomber-crash) |
| Aircraft | Boeing B-52H Stratofortress, tail number 60-0061, powered by Pratt & Whitney TF33 engines[4](https://blog.vibrationdata.com/2026/06/17/b-52-crash-at-edwards-afb/) |
| Fatalities | All eight aboard killed: four active duty airmen, one Air Force reservist, and three civilians, including two Boeing employees[5](https://apnews.com/article/dddb89a863a9dbe1dadce4fbfe0010b3) • [6](https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2026/06/17/air-force-identifies-8-people-killed-in-b-52-crash/?contentFeatureId=f0fmoahPVC2AbfL-2-1-8&contentQuery=%7B%22includeSections%22%3A%22%2Fhome%22%2C%22excludeSections%22%3A%22%22%2C%22feedSize%22%3A10%2C%22feedOffset%22%3A185%7D) |
| Mission | A routine test flight in support of the B-52 radar modernization program[1](https://www.edwards.af.mil/News/Display/Article/4517897/b-52-crashes-at-edwards-air-force-base/) • [2](https://apnews.com/article/ea237a6eec587adbbf9e7a578014ca93) |
| Investigation | An Air Force Safety Investigation Board, initially an Interim Safety Investigation Board; completion estimated at up to six months[7](https://www.dvidshub.net/news/568088/b-52-accident-update-edwards-releases-names-fallen-crew-members) • [8](https://www.stripes.com/branches/air_force/2026-06-23/air-force-b-52-modernization-moves-forward-22058431.html) • [3](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jun/16/us-air-force-b52-bomber-crash) |
| Program impact | The Air Force continued the modernization program; radar testing was put on hold while a second test bomber was fitted with the new radar[8](https://www.stripes.com/branches/air_force/2026-06-23/air-force-b-52-modernization-moves-forward-22058431.html) • [9](https://www.airandspaceforces.com/test-b-52-modified-new-radar-june-crash/) |
## The crash
The bomber took off from Edwards Air Force Base shortly before noon on a clear day, heading southwest into the prevailing winds. It was in the air a very short time before slamming into the ground about halfway down the same 15,000-foot (4,572-meter) runway from which it had departed; the compact wreckage indicated the plane had dropped sharply.[10](https://apnews.com/article/2cf849e75640a2e0b98ab94cc4a14430)
Flight tracking data from AirNav Systems recorded a sharper sequence: after takeoff the aircraft made a sharp right turn and then a turn of nearly 180 degrees before plummeting about 5,056 feet (1,541 meters) per minute onto another runway, nearly ten times the descent rate of an aircraft preparing to land.[3](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jun/16/us-air-force-b52-bomber-crash) Aerial footage showed a large swath of charred desert near the runway, with black smoke rising and emergency vehicles on the scene.[2](https://apnews.com/article/ea237a6eec587adbbf9e7a578014ca93)
## Victims
The eight people aboard were a mix of uniformed military, government civilians, and government contractors. After a review of crash footage, Col. James Hayes, deputy commander for the 412th Test Wing, said no one could have survived.[2](https://apnews.com/article/ea237a6eec587adbbf9e7a578014ca93) Military officials identified the victims on June 17 as Col. Gregory Watson, 53; retired Lt. Col. Miles Middleton, 50; Lt. Col. Gabriel Estrella, 40; Maj. Alexander Davis, 34; Maj. Robert Dee, 40; Maj. Brad Hovey, 35; Jeromy Smith, 32; and Christopher Rischar, 41.[5](https://apnews.com/article/dddb89a863a9dbe1dadce4fbfe0010b3) The group included four active duty airmen, a reservist, and three civilians working on a team devoted to keeping the bomber flying for decades to come; Boeing confirmed that two of its employees were among the dead.[5](https://apnews.com/article/dddb89a863a9dbe1dadce4fbfe0010b3) • [2](https://apnews.com/article/ea237a6eec587adbbf9e7a578014ca93)
**Response and memorial.** The airfield was closed after the crash and inbound aircraft were diverted; the base stood down operations the following day.[2](https://apnews.com/article/ea237a6eec587adbbf9e7a578014ca93) Flight test operations resumed on June 22, a week after the crash, with base officials saying they did not expect the ongoing safety investigation to restrict flight operations.[11](https://www.airandspaceforces.com/flights-resume-at-edwards-after-b-52-crash/) On the evening of June 29, families, teammates, and senior Air Force leaders gathered in an aircraft hangar at Edwards for a memorial service honoring the eight crew members, and two B-52H aircraft from Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, and Barksdale AFB, Louisiana, flew over the airfield at its conclusion.[12](https://www.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/4533099/air-force-honors-b-52-crew-during-memorial-service-at-edwards-afb/)
## Investigation
An Interim Safety Investigation Board was established immediately, and the Air Force later said an Air Force Safety Investigation Board had begun work to determine the cause.[7](https://www.dvidshub.net/news/568088/b-52-accident-update-edwards-releases-names-fallen-crew-members) • [8](https://www.stripes.com/branches/air_force/2026-06-23/air-force-b-52-modernization-moves-forward-22058431.html) Officials estimated the investigation could take up to six months to complete.[3](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jun/16/us-air-force-b52-bomber-crash) Experts noted that, unlike investigations of civilian aircraft, which often produce a published report, the military investigation might not become public.[13](https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-06-19/edwards-afb-b52-crash-probe)
No cause had been determined in the days after the crash. Jeff Guzzetti, a former investigator for the [Federal Aviation Administration](https://www.edgepedia.org/federal-aviation-administration) and the [National Transportation Safety Board](https://www.edgepedia.org/national-transportation-safety-board), said the way the aircraft crashed so quickly after takeoff without gaining altitude or distance suggested some kind of flight control malfunction, possibly controls rigged incorrectly after maintenance, a catastrophic engine problem, or a failure of the equipment being tested, and called it a controllability issue.[3](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jun/16/us-air-force-b52-bomber-crash) The accident aircraft was a B-52H still powered by Pratt & Whitney TF33 engines rather than the Rolls-Royce F130 engines planned for the B-52J upgrade, and it lacked a full-authority digital engine control, which affects both engine transient behavior and the digital propulsion data available to investigators.[4](https://blog.vibrationdata.com/2026/06/17/b-52-crash-at-edwards-afb/) The B-52H fleet also lacked crash-survivable flight data recorders at the time of a 2016 accident, a limitation relevant to reconstruction.[14](https://snagfilms-a.akamaihd.net/5b/70/f66ec9564e1ca30fe4049d1a7486/b-52-crash-andersen-air-force-base-report.pdf) The planned investigation scope included inspection of the wreckage, review of past incidents involving the crashed aircraft, and analysis of past incidents across the B-52 fleet.[13](https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-06-19/edwards-afb-b52-crash-probe)
## Aircraft and program context
The B-52 Stratofortress is a long-range Boeing bomber that entered service in 1955, capable of carrying conventional and nuclear weapons, and it has served from Vietnam through operations in the Iran war. It remains a central part of United States air power, and Edwards Air Force Base hosts a large portion of the Air Force's aircraft test and development work through the 412th Test Wing.[2](https://apnews.com/article/ea237a6eec587adbbf9e7a578014ca93)
The crashed aircraft was supporting the B-52 radar modernization program. In 2025, Boeing sent a B-52 to Edwards with a modernized Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar, designed by Raytheon to replace 1960s-era radar technology with improved navigation and targeting; a test team planned ground and flight test activities through 2026 to feed a production decision.[2](https://apnews.com/article/ea237a6eec587adbbf9e7a578014ca93) • [10](https://apnews.com/article/2cf849e75640a2e0b98ab94cc4a14430) The Air Force said in late June that it planned to move ahead with the broader B-52 modernization program despite the crash.[8](https://www.stripes.com/branches/air_force/2026-06-23/air-force-b-52-modernization-moves-forward-22058431.html) The loss of the first radar-modified aircraft put radar testing on hold for months while the Air Force awaited the next test bomber, whose radar installation was expected to be completed in 2026; service officials said a replacement bomber should be ready to resume testing by the end of 2026.[9](https://www.airandspaceforces.com/test-b-52-modified-new-radar-june-crash/) • [15](https://defensescoop.com/2026/07/27/b-52-modernization-program-status-after-june-crash/)
The crash occurred during the most extensive modernization in the program's history: the Air Force is upgrading its 76 active B-52 aircraft at an estimated cost of $21 billion to keep them flying into the 2050s, and a July 2026 [Government Accountability Office](https://www.edgepedia.org/government-accountability-office) report found that ten of the thirteen B-52 modernization programs were experiencing cost, schedule, or performance challenges.[16](https://www.gao.gov/assets/890/888227.pdf) Before the June 2026 crash, the most recent B-52 incident had occurred in 2016 in Guam, when a plane overran the runway.[13](https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-06-19/edwards-afb-b52-crash-probe)
## References
1. [B-52 crashes at Edwards Air Force Base, Edwards Air Force Base (June 15, 2026)](https://www.edwards.af.mil/News/Display/Article/4517897/b-52-crashes-at-edwards-air-force-base/)
2. [8 people died in B-52 bomber crash at US Air Force base in Southern California, officials say, Associated Press (June 15, 2026)](https://apnews.com/article/ea237a6eec587adbbf9e7a578014ca93)
3. [Investigation into deadly B-52 bomber crash could take months, US officials say, The Guardian (June 16, 2026)](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jun/16/us-air-force-b52-bomber-crash)
4. [B-52 Crash at Edwards AFB, Vibrationdata Engineering Blog (June 17, 2026)](https://blog.vibrationdata.com/2026/06/17/b-52-crash-at-edwards-afb/)
5. [Military officials identify all 8 victims of fiery B-52 crash at California Air Force base, Associated Press (June 17, 2026)](https://apnews.com/article/dddb89a863a9dbe1dadce4fbfe0010b3)
6. [Air Force identifies 8 people killed in B-52 crash, Air Force Times (June 17, 2026)](https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2026/06/17/air-force-identifies-8-people-killed-in-b-52-crash/?contentFeatureId=f0fmoahPVC2AbfL-2-1-8&contentQuery=%7B%22includeSections%22%3A%22%2Fhome%22%2C%22excludeSections%22%3A%22%22%2C%22feedSize%22%3A10%2C%22feedOffset%22%3A185%7D)
7. [B-52 accident update – Edwards releases names of fallen crew members, DVIDS (June 17, 2026)](https://www.dvidshub.net/news/568088/b-52-accident-update-edwards-releases-names-fallen-crew-members)
8. [Air Force to move ahead with B-52 modernization despite Edwards AFB crash, Stars and Stripes (June 23, 2026)](https://www.stripes.com/branches/air_force/2026-06-23/air-force-b-52-modernization-moves-forward-22058431.html)
9. [Second Test B-52 Being Modified with New Radar After June Crash, Air & Space Forces Magazine](https://www.airandspaceforces.com/test-b-52-modified-new-radar-june-crash/)
10. [B-52 was in the air a very short time before crashing and killing all 8 on board, Associated Press (June 16, 2026)](https://apnews.com/article/2cf849e75640a2e0b98ab94cc4a14430)
11. [Flights Resume at Edwards Week After B-52 Crash, Air & Space Forces Magazine (June 23, 2026)](https://www.airandspaceforces.com/flights-resume-at-edwards-after-b-52-crash/)
12. [Air Force honors B-52 crew during memorial service at Edwards AFB, U.S. Air Force](https://www.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/4533099/air-force-honors-b-52-crew-during-memorial-service-at-edwards-afb/)
13. [What does the future hold for the B-52 bomber after deadly crash?, Los Angeles Times (June 19, 2026)](https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-06-19/edwards-afb-b52-crash-probe)
14. [US Air Force accident investigation report, B-52H, T/N 60-0047, Andersen Air Force Base, May 19, 2016](https://snagfilms-a.akamaihd.net/5b/70/f66ec9564e1ca30fe4049d1a7486/b-52-crash-andersen-air-force-base-report.pdf)
15. [Air Force asserts B-52 modernization remains on cost and schedule following June crash, DefenseScoop (July 27, 2026)](https://defensescoop.com/2026/07/27/b-52-modernization-program-status-after-june-crash/)
16. [GAO-26-109272, B-52 Bomber: Air Force Actions Needed to Improve Major Modernization and Sustainment Efforts, Government Accountability Office (July 2026)](https://www.gao.gov/assets/890/888227.pdf)
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