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A B-52 bomber crashed Monday shortly after taking off from Edwards Air Force Base in Southern California, Air Force officials said.
Read more B-52 crashes after takeoff at Edwards Air Force Base in Southern California
The nuclear-capable aircraft, considered the “backbone” of the Air Force’s strategic bomber force,“ crashed on the Edwards airfield soon after taking off at 11:20 a.m., officials from the Kern County base reported through a social media post. Emergency crews immediately responded to the scene, though no further details were immediately available.
Officials said the airfield, which includes the world’s longest runway, was closed with inbound aircraft being diverted. Edwards officials also said in a social media post that visitor’s passes were being suspended for the day “to focus entirely on emergency response operations.”
In video footage from Los Angeles TV stations including KTLA, smoke could be seen from a debris-strewn area just off the runway, with few remnants of the aircraft visible from the station’s vantage point.
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Built by Boeing, the eight-engine B-52 Stratofortress can carry a crew of up to five — a flight commander, a pilot, a radar navigator, an electronic warfare officer and a tail gunner. The number of occupants aboard the flight was not immediately known.
The long-range bomber, which was has flown regularly since 1955, is capable carrying up to of 35 tons of munitions and can fly more than 8,000 miles without aerial refueling. About 70 of the bombers remain in service with the Air Force, 50 of which are in active forces based at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, and Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota.
Edwards Air Force Base — about 70 miles east of Bakersfield and 60 miles northeast of Los Angeles — is a major testing and training site for developmental U.S. Air Force aircraft and NASA flight-testing operations.
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This is a developing story. Check back for updates.