B-52 plane has crashed in the Mojave Desert – eight dead

TT

Updated 02.38 | Published 2026-06-15 21.34

.A B-52 Stratofortress plane during a flight over Stockholm, flanked by two Jas 39 Gripen planes. Archive photo. Photo: Jonas Ekströmer/TT

A B-52 Stratofortress bomber has crashed at an American air base in the American state of California.

All eight people on board have died, the military says.

The plane crashed at Edwards Air Force Base about 160 kilometers north of Los Angeles. The accident occurred shortly after the plane took off.

Eight people were on board. All were later assessed to have died.

“The base has suffered a terrible tragedy and we have lost eight great Americans,” said Colonel James Hayes after the accident.

A large area around the accident site has been closed off, according to the emergency services. Pictures taken shortly after the accident show a large cloud of smoke rising from the impact site in the Mojave Desert.

The air base is used for development and test flights, among other things. It is also known for the record flight when Chuck Yeager first broke the sound barrier in 1947.