US Military B-52 Bomber Crashes in California, All 8 Crew Members Killed

(Central News Agency, Los Angeles, 15th –综合 international news reports) A U.S. Air Force B-52 Stratofortress bomber crashed shortly after taking off from Edwards Air Force Base in the Mojave Desert of Southern California. Authorities have confirmed that all eight crew members on board were killed.

According to reports from Reuters and AFP, Edwards Air Force Base issued a statement saying, 'An Air Force B-52 Stratofortress bomber carrying eight personnel conducting a routine test mission crashed shortly after takeoff at 11:20 a.m.'

Edwards Air Force Base, located approximately 95 kilometers north of Los Angeles, is one of the U.S. military's key operational bases.

Footage from the crash site shows a large area of scorched earth, with the aircraft almost completely destroyed by fire. Officials previously stated that 'survival was impossible' in this incident.

The base statement confirmed that emergency response teams have arrived on site. The Air Force said the cause of the accident is currently under investigation.

The base spokesperson declined to provide further information.

According to military records, the B-52 Stratofortress bomber was designed and manufactured by Boeing. It is a long-range, subsonic military aircraft that has long served as the backbone of the U.S. manned strategic bomber fleet.

The Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives (BAAA), headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, which specializes in collecting global aviation accident data, reported that this is the first B-52 crash since May 2016. The May 2016 incident occurred in Guam, and all seven crew members on board survived. (Translation: Tsai Chia-min) 1150616