B-52 Crash at Edwards

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Jock 07
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2:19p, 6/15/26
AG
https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/b-52-stratofortress-crashes-edwards-air-force-base/3904464/
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K2-HMFIC
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2:21p, 6/15/26
No word on pilots yet…

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aggiehawg
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2:23p, 6/15/26
AG
Crash site looks really bad. No visible sign of wreckage, just charred runway and ground.
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deddog
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2:25p, 6/15/26
AG
Is there a way to bail out of a B-52?
B-52 crashes are never good
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pdc093
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2:28p, 6/15/26
Praying.
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sts7049
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2:32p, 6/15/26
AG
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K2-HMFIC
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2:35p, 6/15/26
Nickel on the grass…
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New World Ag
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In reply to deddog • 2:37p, 6/15/26
AG
deddog said:
Is there a way to bail out of a B-52?
B-52 crashes are never good


Yes, they have ejection seats.
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Rapier108
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In reply to deddog • 2:37p, 6/15/26
deddog said:
Is there a way to bail out of a B-52?
B-52 crashes are never good

Yes, they do have ejection seats.

Reports are no survivors and it was a crash on takeoff.
"If you will not fight for right when you can easily win without blood shed; if you will not fight when your victory is sure and not too costly; you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a precarious chance of survival. There may even be a worse case. You may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves." - Sir Winston Churchill
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nortex97
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In reply to deddog • 2:37p, 6/15/26
AG
Yes, but I think 2 crew members would eject downward. Doesn't look good.
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BQ78
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2:40p, 6/15/26
AG
I imagine the pilots would be trying to get some altitude so the nav could eject since you need at an absolute minimum 250 feet to eject out the bottom
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Rapier108
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2:46p, 6/15/26
Crash looks to be still on the runway so whatever happened had to be absolutely catastrophic for it to not only barely get off the ground, not clear the runway, and then basically be vaporized on impact.

And by catastrophic, I mean something to the level of a wing falling off.
"If you will not fight for right when you can easily win without blood shed; if you will not fight when your victory is sure and not too costly; you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a precarious chance of survival. There may even be a worse case. You may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves." - Sir Winston Churchill
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Matsui
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2:51p, 6/15/26
AG
woah....awful
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sharpdressedman
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In reply to nortex97 • 2:52p, 6/15/26
nortex97 said:
Yes, but I think 2 crew members would eject downward. Doesn't look good.


From DDG search:
The B-52G has six independent ejection systems, each with its own escape hatch; four seats eject upward and two downward, and each crewmember must initiate their own ejection sequence. The downward seats use a catapult-only design and cannot eject at zero altitude or airspeed, while the upward seats are Weber designs introduced around the B-52G/H timeframe.
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BQ78
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In reply to Rapier108 • 2:57p, 6/15/26
AG
It's a giant fuel tank, so not necessarily catastrophic like a wing falling off if things failed and they hit the ground there are six figures of pounds of fuel on board ready to incinerate it.
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TexasAggie_97
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3:03p, 6/15/26
AG
That's the second crash in 24 hours. That means we have one more left to complete the all to strange things like this that seem to happen in 3s. Thoughts and prayers to the families of those killed.
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Cinco Ranch Aggie
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3:06p, 6/15/26
AG
Crashed on takeoff makes me think they would not have had altitude to safely eject, even upward. Perhaps some BUFF drivers might know for certain, I'm just guessing here.

RIP to the crew.
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Rapier108
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In reply to TexasAggie_97 • 3:07p, 6/15/26
TexasAggie_97 said:
That's the second crash in 24 hours. That means we have one more left to complete the all to strange things like this that seem to happen in 3s. Thoughts and prayers to the families of those killed.

Ivan lost a TU-22M a few hours ago.
"If you will not fight for right when you can easily win without blood shed; if you will not fight when your victory is sure and not too costly; you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a precarious chance of survival. There may even be a worse case. You may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves." - Sir Winston Churchill
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LylaGarrity
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In reply to K2-HMFIC • 3:33p, 6/15/26
AG
K2-HMFIC said:
Nickel on the grass…

Pardon my ignorance, what does nickel signify?
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Rockdoc
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In reply to nortex97 • 3:37p, 6/15/26
AG
nortex97 said:
Yes, but I think 2 crew members would eject downward. Doesn't look good.

Yeah I've been in a B-52 and with everybody at their stations it's almost always a bad deal as far as getting out.
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BQ78
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In reply to Cinco Ranch Aggie • 3:41p, 6/15/26
AG
The pilots and EW eject upward and could have made it out, the navs could not of gotten out, that is why I surmised the pilots were trying to get it up enough for the Navs to get out. My pilots always told me they would try to get enough altitude for me to get out on the bottom, I'm guessing these pilots had the same attitude.
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Rockdoc
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3:43p, 6/15/26
AG
Any early word on what might have happened? Massive structural failure?
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CanyonAg77
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In reply to Cinco Ranch Aggie • 3:44p, 6/15/26
AG
Quote:
Perhaps some BUFF drivers might know for certain, I'm just guessing here.

Pretty sure some BUFF veterans already have
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CanyonAg77
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In reply to LylaGarrity • 3:51p, 6/15/26
AG
LylaGarrity said:
K2-HMFIC said:
Nickel on the grass…

Pardon my ignorance, what does nickel signify?

https://www.contrail.org/documents/ANICKLEINTHEGRASS.pdf

Quote:
Save a Fighter Pilot's Ass

Chorus:
Oh, Halleliua, Halleliua

Throw a nickel on the grassSave a fighter pilot's ass.
Oh, Halleliua, Oh, Halleliua
Throw a nickel on the grass and you'll be saved.

I was cruising down the Mekong, doing six and twenty per
When a call came from my wingman, Oh won 't you save me sir?
Got three flak holes in my wing tips, and my tanks ain't got no gas
Mayday, mayday, mayday, I got six MIGS on my ass.

Chorus

I shot my traffic pattern, and to me it looked all right,
The airspeed read one-thirty, I really racked it tight!
Then the airframe gave a shudder, the engine gave a wheeze,
Mayday, mayday, mayday, spin instructions please.

Chorus

It was split S on my Bomb run, and I got too *********low
But I pressed that bloody button, and I let those babies go
Sucked the stick back fast as blazes, when I hit a high speed stall
I won't see my mother when the work is done next fall.

Chorus

They sent me up to Hanoi, the brief said "no ack"
by the time that I arrived there,all I saw was flak.
Then my engine coughed and sputtered, it was too cut up to fly
Mayday, mayday, mayday, I'm too young to die.

Chorus


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LylaGarrity
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In reply to CanyonAg77 • 3:56p, 6/15/26
AG
CanyonAg77 said:
LylaGarrity said:
K2-HMFIC said:
Nickel on the grass…

Pardon my ignorance, what does nickel signify?

https://www.contrail.org/documents/ANICKLEINTHEGRASS.pdf

Quote:
Save a Fighter Pilot's Ass

Chorus:
Oh, Halleliua, Halleliua

Throw a nickel on the grassSave a fighter pilot's ass.
Oh, Halleliua, Oh, Halleliua
Throw a nickel on the grass and you'll be saved.

I was cruising down the Mekong, doing six and twenty per
When a call came from my wingman, Oh won 't you save me sir?
Got three flak holes in my wing tips, and my tanks ain't got no gas
Mayday, mayday, mayday, I got six MIGS on my ass.

Chorus

I shot my traffic pattern, and to me it looked all right,
The airspeed read one-thirty, I really racked it tight!
Then the airframe gave a shudder, the engine gave a wheeze,
Mayday, mayday, mayday, spin instructions please.

Chorus

It was split S on my Bomb run, and I got too *********low
But I pressed that bloody button, and I let those babies go
Sucked the stick back fast as blazes, when I hit a high speed stall
I won't see my mother when the work is done next fall.

Chorus

They sent me up to Hanoi, the brief said "no ack"
by the time that I arrived there,all I saw was flak.
Then my engine coughed and sputtered, it was too cut up to fly
Mayday, mayday, mayday, I'm too young to die.

Chorus



Got it. Thanks for the clarification
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Rapier108
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4:07p, 6/15/26
"If you will not fight for right when you can easily win without blood shed; if you will not fight when your victory is sure and not too costly; you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a precarious chance of survival. There may even be a worse case. You may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves." - Sir Winston Churchill
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Eliminatus
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4:10p, 6/15/26
AG
Awful. Hoping for the best, preparing for the worst.
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Gunny456
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In reply to CanyonAg77 • 4:11p, 6/15/26
AG
My dad was in the AAC in WWII as a crew cheif on B-25's in Guam and New Guinea. He had a different story a s to the tradition of the nickel on the grass. He and some other guys we flew with in the CAF said it was a tradition in WWII as lots of planes flew off grass strips that pilots and crew would throw a nickel on the grass at takeoff so in case they were killed someone would have a nickel to pay for a call to home.
He and other AAC guys we met in the CAF would place a nickel on any fallen pilot or crewmembers grave or headstone.
My dad was old school till the end...he always had remarks said with jest to Airforce personnel. He was gung ho Army Air Corp all the way.
TAMU Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences

Boat racing is like a beautiful woman.......expensive, high maintenance, but well worth the fun!
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Marauder Blue 6
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4:11p, 6/15/26
AG
Out of Edwards, would there be additional crew onboard for testing/evaluation?
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TX_COWDOC
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4:12p, 6/15/26
AG
Damn.
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Hey Nav
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4:25p, 6/15/26
AG
Quote:
Edwards is the Air Force's premier test base, and a B-52 arrived there in December to start testing the bomber's new radar. The Radar Modernization Program is one of several upgrades planned for the Stratofortress. B-52s also fly from Edwards to test new weapons like the hypersonic Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon and the nuclear Long-Range Standoff cruise missile
It is unclear which aircraft crashed June 15.

https://www.airandspaceforces.com/b-52-crashes-at-edwards/

Part of the new radar system program is changing the crew compliment from 5 to 4 (2 CSOs will do the work of the Radar, Nav, and EWO).

Still, could have been more people on board today. God bless them all.
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annie88
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4:36p, 6/15/26
AG
Well, that's damn sad.
I don’t get enough credit for the things I manage not to say.
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Gator92
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4:48p, 6/15/26
AG


ETA I'm not sure if this pic is of this incident or not.

Link to the Story

Edit Again.

Pic is from 2016 at Guam. Aborted take off. All crew escaped.

https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2017/04/19/air-force-bird-scare-led-to-aborted-takeoff-that-wrecked-b-52/
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12th Man
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4:49p, 6/15/26
AG
These songs still exist...

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nortex97
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In reply to Gator92 • 4:53p, 6/15/26
AG
That's not this plane/crash, unfortunately.
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