Eight dead after B-52 nuclear bomber crashes just after take-off at major US Air Force base

Eight people are thought to have died after an American B-52 bomber crashed shortly after take-off from a military base in California.The plane, a B-52 Stratofortress, crashed just after taking off from Edwards Air Force Base in Kern County, California on Monday morning.A statement from Edwards Air Force base the bomber crashed at 11.20am PDT (7.20pm BST) and emergency crews immediately responded to the scene.The airfield has been closed, and all inbound aircraft are being diverted, Edwards Air Force Base added. TRENDING Stories Videos Your Say Non-commercial visitor passes to the bases were suspended until further notice tin order to focus on the emergency response.Shortly after 11pm BST, a statement from the base said the bomber was carrying eight people on board.Initial indications are that the crash was not survivable, it confirmed.Initial images, taken by Fox News, showed a large plume of black smoke surrounding the wreckage.Edwards Air Force Base said the crash is currently under investigation.Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and unite members at this time, the California base added.The bomber was allegedly the 60-0061, according to a popular Facebook group for Air Force airmen and veterans.That aircraft is currently being used to test a new active electronically scanned array (AESA), a state of the art new radar system.The nuclear-capable B-52 first entered service in the 1950s and remains to be a key bomber in the US Air Force.The aircraft is one of 76 B-52s in the Air Force's arsenal.The California base is the US Air Force's main flight test centre, with B-52s stationed there frequently used for developmental and modernisation testing.An effort to upgrade the B-52 is currently underway, with Boeing winning a 2billion contract from the US Air Force to provide new engines and systems to the bombers.Equipped with a new Rolls-Royce engine, the upgraded aircraft will be diagnosed as the B-52J to extend the bomber's lifespan until 2050.Before Monday's crash, the most recent fatal incident was in 2008 as six US Air Force personnel were killed as they crashed their B-52 into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Guam while preparing for a flyover.The B-52 is no longer being manufactured, with replacement parts sourced from dismantled airframes, stored at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona.In 2016, bombers were used in about 1,800 combat sorties against Isis forces in Syria and Iraq.More to follow... Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter