CNN
By Taylor Romine, Davis Winkie, CNN
(CNN) — A military aircraft crashed shortly after taking off from a base northeast of Los Angeles Monday morning, Edwards Air Force Base said on social media.
“A United States Air Force B-52 Stratofortress crashed shortly after takeoff on the Edwards airfield at 11:20 a.m.,” the base said on Facebook. “Emergency crews immediately responded to the scene and the situation is ongoing.”
It is not immediately clear if there are any injuries. CNN has reached out to the base for more information.
The crash left a towering black plume at Edwards Air Force Base, located in California’s Mojave Desert, northeast of Los Angeles. The runway at the base was left with a large blackened scar and smoke, but it was difficult to make out any distinct parts of the wreckage, video from CNN affiliate KCAL shows.
The airfield is closed, inbound aircraft are being diverted and all non-commercial visitor passes are suspended until further notice as the base focuses on its emergency response, it said.
The B-52 is one of the Air Force’s oldest aircraft, first entering service in 1955. The long-range heavy bomber, which typically carries a crew of five, can carry as much as 70,000 pounds of bombs and other munitions.
The currently flown version, the B-52H, still plays a major role in the Air Force’s arsenal, which includes 76 of the aircraft. It was used in bombing missions during the current conflict between the US and Iran. The B-52H can also carry nuclear bombs and nuclear-armed cruise missiles.
Before Monday’s crash, the most recent fatal accident involving the aircraft was in 2008, when six Air Force personnel were killed after their B-52 crashed into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Guam while preparing for a parade flyover.
The Boeing-made bomber has not been in production since 1962, though several life-extension initiatives have modernized the airframe and kept it flying. The Air Force recently launched another B-52 upgrade initiative centered around designing new engines with a total expected price tag of $48.6 billion, according to Defense News.
Because the aircraft is no longer in production, any replacements must be sourced from dismantled airframes stored at the so-called “Boneyard” at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, as was done after a non-fatal 2016 crash that destroyed a B-52H in Guam.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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