Eight people who were on board a United States Air Force B-52 Stratofortress died after the plane crashed shortly after takeoff at Edwards Air Force Base Monday morning.
Edwards Air Force Base wrote in a news release that “initial indications are that the crash was not survivable.” At an afternoon news conference, the deaths were confirmed. “Today, Edwards Air Force Base experienced a terrible tragedy and we lost eight great Americans,” Col. James Hayes said.
A mixed crew of military personnel, government civilians, and government contractors supporting a test mission for a radar modernization program was on board the aircraft. Boeing confirmed that two company employees were among those on board.
“We are in contact with their families and are offering support,” Boeing wrote in a news release.
Aerial footage taken shortly after the crash showed a large smoldering burn mark on the land.
The aircraft was on a routine test mission at Edwards airfield, located in the western Mojave Desert, about 100 miles northeast of Los Angeles. It went down at about 11:20 a.m. local time, crashing and bursting into flames. “After reviewing the footage of the crash, it was deemed that this was an unrecoverable crash, and unsurvivable,” Hayes said, noting next of kin notifications are underway.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family members. This is a tragedy,” Hayes said.
The airfield is closed and all inbound aircraft are being diverted, base officials said in an earlier statement.
“All non-commercial visitor passes have been suspended until further notice to allow the installation to focus entirely on emergency response operations. We will continue to update as more information is confirmed,” the statement said.
CBS LA 
The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is a long-range, heavy, jet-powered strategic bomber. Officials said there is no indication at this point of what caused the crash. ‘We won’t be able to release that information, and we don’t have an ability to get that any time soon,” Hayes said.
The investigation process can take upwards of six months.
“May GOD shepard the souls of these incredible Americans — and watch over their families,” US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, wrote on X.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
UC San Diego/CalFire Alert California cam 