The U.S. Air Force B-52 Stratofortress crashed shortly after takeoff at Edwards Airstrip at 11:20 a.m., according to the base’s Facebook page. Emergency crews immediately went to the scene and the situation is ongoing.
It is not clear if there are any injuries. CNN has contacted the base for more information.
The crash produced a plume of black smoke at Edwards Air Force Base, located in California’s Mojave Desert northeast of Los Angeles. The runway at the base was left with a huge charred scar and smoke, although it was difficult to identify any specific part of the debris, according to a video by CNN affiliate KCAL.
The airstrip is closed, inbound flights are being diverted and all non-commercial visitor passes are suspended until further notice as the base focuses on emergency response, the statement said.
The Bomber B52 is one of the oldest aircraft of the Air Force, which entered service in 1955. The long-range heavy bomber, which typically has a crew of five, can carry up to 70,000 pounds of bombs and other ordnance.
The currently operational version, the B-52H, continues to play an important role in the Air Force’s arsenal of 76 aircraft. It has been used in bombing missions during the ongoing conflict between the United States and Iran. The B-52H can also carry nuclear bombs and nuclear-armed cruise missiles.
Before Monday’s incident, the last fatal crash involving an aircraft occurred in 2008, when six Air Force members died after their B-52 crashed into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Guam while preparing for a parade flyover.
On September 19, 2025, aircrew from the US Air Force’s 501st Fighter Support Wing and 307th Bomb Wing walk towards a B-52 Stratofortress bomber at RAF Fairford.
The Boeing-built bomber has been out of production since 1962, but multiple life-extension programs have upgraded the aircraft’s design and kept it operational.
According to Defense News, the Air Force has just begun another effort to upgrade the B-52 based on the creation of new engines, which is expected to cost a total of $48.6 billion.
Since the aircraft is no longer in production, any replacements must be sourced from disassembled airframes stored in the “Boneyard” at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona, as was done after the 2016 non-fatal crash that damaged the B-52H in Guam.
