US Air Force B-52 Bomber Crashes After Takeoff from Edwards Air Force Base

A United States Air Force B-52 Stratofortress has crashed shortly after taking off from the Edwards Air Force Base in California, the base said.

“Emergency crews immediately responded to the scene and the situation is ongoing,” the base wrote on Monday in a post on X.

It was not immediately clear if there were any casualties or what caused the crash.

Video from the scene showed a huge plume of black smoke rising from the desert.

The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress, typically crewed by five people, is a long-range bomber that entered service in 1955. It can carry a payload of up to 70,000 pounds (31,750kg).

Designed to carry both conventional and nuclear weapons, it has been used in conflicts ranging from the Vietnam War to recent operations in the Middle East.

Edwards, the vast desert base where Chuck Yeager broke the speed of sound in 1947, is about 100 miles (161km) north of Los Angeles and home to the world’s largest airfield. About 10,000 members of the military, contractors and civilian staff work at the location.

The crash comes almost a year after the pilot of a regional airliner flying over the US state of North Dakota made an unexpected sharp turn to avoid a possible midair collision with a military B-52 bomber that was in its flight path last July.

The US has used the aircraft in conflicts, including in Vietnam, the Gulf, Iraq, Afghanistan and in the current war with Iran.

Each jet is valued at about $110m.