8 crew members dead after US B-52 bomber crashes at California base - VIDEO

Eight crew members are dead in a B-52 bomber crash shortly after takeoff from Edwards Air Force Base, northeast of Los Angeles, on Monday morning, the base said, according to CNN.

It is the deadliest crash involving a B-52 bomber since 1982. In that crash, nine crew members died in test training at the Mather Air Force Base near Sacramento, The Associated Press reported at the time.

The B-52 Stratofortress in Monday’s crash was on a routine test mission that took off at 11:20 a.m. local time at the remote air base, officials said. It is now considered a recovery operation.

U.S. B-52 Stratofortress strategic bomber crashed immediately after take-off from Edwards Air Force Base in California.

Eight people aboard the B-52 bomber that crashed are believed to be dead, according to the Air Force.

“Initial indications are that the crash was not… pic.twitter.com/AXhpXmMAPE

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“It was tragic and unsurvivable,” Colonel James Hayes said at a news conference.

Emergency crews responded immediately to the crash involving the bomber, which left a towering black plume in its wake, the base said.

Teams are working to notify families about the deaths over the next several hours, Chief Master Sgt. Joshua T. Skarloken said. The crew was a mix of military officials, government civilians and government contractors, Skarloken said.

Boeing, the manufacturer of the plane, said two of its employees were on Monday’s flight. “We are in contact with their families and are offering support,” Boeing said in a statement.

Secretary of the Air Force Troy E. Meink and House Speaker Mike Johnson both shared their condolences on social media about the lives lost. California Gov. Gavin Newsom also offered his sympathies to “the entire Edwards Air Force Base community” and thanked first responders.

The B-52 bomber was performing a test supporting the radar modernization program, Air Force officials said.

The base’s runway was left with a large blackened scar on the sandy runway, as well as some residual smoke, but it was difficult to make out any distinct parts of the wreckage, video from CNN affiliate KCAL shows.

The base has been reopened, though officials are standing down on operations through Tuesday, Hayes said.

Military officials will start investigating what happened, but the exact details won’t be available to the public for around six months, Hayes said.

Stabil.Az