On Monday, under clear skies in the Mojave Desert, a B-52 bomber crashed at Edwards Air Force Base in California moments after takeoff during a routine testing mission. All eight people aboard the plane were killed.
In the days since, Air Force officials have begun an investigation, and the anguished families of the deceased have struggled to understand how a stalwart of the military fleet was suddenly at the center of a deadly incident. The eight victims were identified on Wednesday.
Here’s what we know so far:
The plane crashed just minutes after takeoff from a historic air force base.
The B-52 bomber crashed and burst into flames at 11:20 a.m., just minutes after takeoff from Edwards Air Force Base, about 100 miles northeast of Los Angeles. The plane exploded into a tower of fire and thick black smoke that Air Force officials described as “unsurvivable.”
The plane, a B-52 Stratofortress, was conducting a routine test mission for a radar modernization program, officials said. They have not identified a cause for the crash, and said it could take months to figure out what happened.
Lauren Smith, the wife of one of the victims, said that her husband, a test flight engineer for the Defense Department, had told her that the flight had been scheduled to take place the prior week, but that “there was something wrong with the plane.” An Air Force spokesman said that “operational security” prevented him from commenting on whether the flight had been delayed for repairs, but he said that test flights “are routinely scheduled and rescheduled” for various reasons, including maintenance and winds.
Edwards Air Force Base is known as the military’s premier aerospace testing ground, because of both its proximity to other aerospace hubs in Southern California and its wide-open geography. The base, which is 484 square miles, is home to the world’s largest airfield and is where the pilot Chuck Yeager first broke the sound barrier in 1947.
Military members and civilians are among the dead.
Air Force officials released the names of the eight victims on Wednesday.
The crew included both members of the military and civilians, and two of the victims were Boeing employees. Some relatives of the deceased have spoken to The New York Times or posted online about the crash and their loss.
Jeromy Smith, 32, of Rosamond, Calif., was a flight test engineer for the Defense Department and the father of two small children. His wife, Ms. Smith, 30, a kindergarten teacher, said he had just returned from paternity leave.
Miles Middleton, 50, of Tehachapi, Calif., a father of two, was a retired lieutenant colonel in the Air Force, a musician with the Tehachapi Symphony Orchestra and a pilot for Boeing, which manufactured the airplane.
Col. Greg Watson, 53, was also an Air Force veteran and Boeing employee, a weapons systems officer from Shreveport, La.
Lt. Col. Gabriel Estrella, 40, was a weapons systems officer who, according to his wife, “woke up every day excited to go to work.”
Major Robert Dee, 40, was a father of three, a native of California and an Air Force test pilot who had joined the Air Force at 29 and obtained degrees from San Jose State University and Stanford after leaving a career as an auto mechanic. His wife, Ashlee Dee, said that “he loved to fly.”
Christopher Rischar, 41, was a father of three, a flight test engineer with the defense contractor JT4, and a third-generation civilian employee at Edwards who had shared a love of aircraft with his father and grandfather, according to his family.
Maj. Alexander Davis, 34, was a weapons systems officer at Edwards with the 419th Flight Test Squadron.
Maj. Brad Hovey, 35, was a pilot with the 419th Flight Test Squadron at Edwards.
The aircraft was part of an aging fleet that the Air Force has struggled to maintain.
Made by Boeing, the B-52 is both the backbone of the modern Air Force bomber fleet and a relic from a lost era. The jet was designed in the 1940s and entered service in 1955. The Air Force now flies only the newest version — built in 1962.
The aircraft, which can carpet-bomb whole areas and carry large numbers of precision bombs, were considered crucial during the Cold War. They were also deployed during the Vietnam War, the 1991 Persian Gulf war and the war in Afghanistan. In March, Air Force pilots began flying them over Iran.
But the military has struggled to maintain them. As of last year, just 58 of its 76 B-52 planes were in working order. In April, an Air Force official told the Senate that the military was struggling to find spare parts to repair them.
Even with these issues, the planes are generally considered safer than newer jets because of their simple design. The Air Force has said its B-52 fleet is expected to continue flying into the 2050s after “multiple upgrades.”
Susan C. Beachy contributed research.
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