B-52 crash at Edwards AFB not survivable for 8 aboard: Officials

(NewsNation) — A B-52 bomber carrying eight people went down shortly after taking off Monday at Edwards Air Force Base in California's Mojave Desert, officials said, adding that the crash was not survivable. The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress took off at around 11:20 a.m. local time, the base confirmed on social media. Emergency crews immediately responded to the scene. A release Monday evening said the plane was carrying eight people on a routine test mission. Those presumed dead in the crash were a mixed crew that consisted of uniformed military, government civilians and contractors, officials said in a news conference Monday evening. The identities of the victims will not be released until their families are notified of their deaths. The cause of the crash, officials said, remains unknown and will not be available for some time, with the full investigative process expected to take up to six months. They called the situation a recovery operation. Flight operations at the Air Force base were temporarily suspended following the crash, but that grounding did not extend to any other bases or airports. A large portion of the U.S. Air Force’s aircraft test and development efforts occur at the base, The Associated Press reported. Edwards said its airfield has been closed and all inbound flights are being diverted as emergency crews respond to the situation. The base is about 100 miles north of Los Angeles and spans more than 300,000 acres across Southern California's Mojave Desert. A major plume of black smoke could reportedly be seen in parts of LA County after the crash, NewsNation local affiliate KTLA reported. The base is spread across three counties. Most of it lies in Kern County, but its eastern end is in San Bernardino County, and a southern arm is in Los Angeles County. The hub of the base is in Edwards, California. The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress, typically crewed by five people, is a long-range bomber that entered service in 1955, according to the Associated Press. Designed to carry both conventional and nuclear weapons, it has been used in conflicts ranging from the Vietnam War to recent operations in the Middle East. The incident at Edwards comes nearly a year after a Delta regional flight heading to North Dakota narrowly avoided a midair collision with a B-52. This is breaking news and will be updated as more information becomes available. The Associated Press and NewsNation local affiliate KTLA contributed to this report.