Published on 6/16/2026
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Last update: 05:46 (Mecca time)
An American B-52 Stratofortress bomber crashed yesterday, Monday, immediately after takeoff from Edwards Air Force Base in the Mojave Desert in Southern California, and all eight crew members were killed.
Colonel James Hayes of the US Air Force said – in a press conference hours after the accident – that the eight-engine plane, designed to carry nuclear and conventional bombs, was on a routine test mission when it crashed on the runway at Edwards Base immediately after take-off.
A column of thick black smoke was seen rising from the crash site from miles away immediately after the accident.
Hayes explained that the “mixed crew” on board the plane consisted of civilians, government contractors and military personnel. The giant Boeing company, which designed and manufactured the plane, said that two of its employees were among the dead.
Hayes told reporters that the flight was intended to support a program to modernize radars. He added that the cause of the accident is unknown and is under investigation.
A video clip taken from the air at the site of the accident showed a burning and charred spot in the desert larger than the area of a football field, while an emergency services vehicle was moving around the site.
The vast Edwards Desert Base, where Chuck Yeager broke the speed of sound in 1947, is located about 161 kilometers north of Los Angeles.
From Vietnam to Iran
The B-52 is a long-range bomber used by the US Air Force since the 1950s. It was used in the wars in Vietnam, the Gulf, Iraq, Afghanistan, and most recently in Iran.
With a maximum combat range of between 14,000 and 16,000 km, the aircraft is capable of carrying nuclear weapons and reaching an altitude of approximately 15 km.
It is 48 meters long and 56 meters wide, 12 meters high from the ground, and has the capacity to carry hundreds of cruise missiles and more than 30 tons of various bombs. No other country has this type of giant bomber or any other bomber that comes close to its capabilities.
The US Central Command announced the use of B-52 bombers in the US-Israeli war on Iran that broke out on February 28, 2026, noting that it targeted Iranian ballistic missile sites and command and control centers in the first 100 hours of the operation.
The history of manufacturing these bombers dates back to the beginnings of the Cold War, when the American military leadership realized the necessity of possessing an air strike platform capable of delivering nuclear weapons deep into the territory of the Soviet Union, without relying on advanced bases or the frequent need for refueling.
