B-52 Crashes off Guam

JEP

Does It Really Matter....?
Staff member
The Air Force says a B-52 bomber carrying six crew members has crashed off the island of Guam
Associated Press

Last update: July 20, 2008 - 10:48 PM


B-52 bomber crashes off Guam

HONOLULU - The Air Force says a B-52 bomber carrying six crew members has crashed off the island of Guam.
 
Re: B-52 Crashes of Guam

An extensive search and rescue operation is underway 25 nautical miles Northwest of Guam for six crew members who were on board a B52 military aircraft. According to the Federal Aviation Administration Guam Office's Terry Pyle, the B52 left Andersen Air Force Base at 9am. Just before 10:30 this morning, the local FAA Office lost contact with the pilot of the aircraft.

Andersen Air Force Base 36th Wing Public Affairs Sgt. Stephen Teel confirms that a B52 was scheduled to participate in a fly over during the Liberation Parade, but would not confirm any aircraft from the base had crashed.

Coast Guard Lt. Lee Putnam says the Coast Guard Cutter Assateague was called to respond to the aircraft crash. The Coast Guard also sent two 25 foot safe boats to the scene while the Guam Fire Department's Search and Rescue arrived with a 35 foot vessel and the Guam Police Department's Marine Patrol arrived on scene with its 24 foot boat. Two Navy HSC25 air craft are also in the area searching for the 6 crew members that were on board the aircraft.

This latest incident, that remains under investigation, is the 5th accident involving a military aircraft that occurred on Guam in the last year.

Back in March, a B-1b Lancer strategic bomber rolled independently at the Yigo base colliding with a group of emergency response vehicles. There were no injuries or fatalities as a result of the accident.

On February 23, the billion dollar B-2 Spirit stealth bomber crashed just after takeoff from Andersen Air Force Base making global headlines. Both pilots ejected from the aircraft prior to the crash that occurred on the Yigo base's runway.

In June, an Accident Investigation Board revealed its findings into the crash and stated that a computer miscalculation was to blame for the incident. Accident Investigation Board President and Vice Commander of the 8th Air Force Major General Floyd Carpenter said moisture was a major factor in the crash. Maj. Gen. Carpenter said, "It was not a person error not a pilot or technician error, it was some bad data because we had moisture and some air sensors on the wing. There are 24 sensors on this wing, 12 on the top and 12 on the bottom in groups of four right on the nose and on the cheeks out on the wings. These little sensors measure the pressure of the air obviously to give the airplane altitude airspeed angle of attack they calculate all of those things."

On February 12, a Navy Ea-6b Prowler attached to the U.S.S. Kittyhawk strike group went down about 20 miles to the Northeast of AAFB. According to news files, the four crew members on board were able to eject before the aircraft crashed in the water.

In September of last year, a B-1b was heavily damaged by fire during an errant landing at the Yigo base.

http://www.kuam.com/news/29059.aspx

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25777752/

http://arklatexhomepage.com/content/fulltext/?cid=24491
 
Re: B-52 Crashes of Guam

one of my best buds from college is out there flying Buff's..luckily wasnt him but sad news all around as he has no idea about his bros on the plane :(
 
Re: B-52 Crashes of Guam

I wish they'd disclose the crew positions of those they found.

If it's the Navs, then there's still hope for the pilots, Edub and 6th dude.

The Navs eject downwards so they're less likely to survive.



Sad news. Indeed a bad year for the USAF. Fly safe bros. SRA_kbad; I know don't think you were in the reserves, but the plane lost was not from the 93d nor were any crew members.
 
Re: B-52 Crashes of Guam

I wish they'd disclose the crew positions of those they found.

If it's the Navs, then there's still hope for the pilots, Edub and 6th dude.

The Navs eject downwards so they're less likely to survive.



Sad news. Indeed a bad year for the USAF. Fly safe bros. SRA_kbad; I know don't think you were in the reserves, but the plane lost was not from the 93d nor were any crew members.

Either the 11th, 20th, or 917th then.
 
Re: B-52 Crashes of Guam

Yeah, it's getting old. People are tired, leaders are getting fired, morale sucks. I know...let's have some MORE personnel cuts!!! :sarcasm:

Seriously, my heart goes out to the families...it just straight up blows man.
 
Re: B-52 Crashes of Guam

Unfortunately, no one made it. :(


Air Force says no survivors of B-52 crash off Guam
By JAYMES SONG (Associated Press Writer)
From Associated Press
July 23, 2008 7:03 PM EDT
HONOLULU - All six crew members aboard a B-52 bomber that crashed off Guam were killed, the Air Force said Wednesday as the search effort shifted focus from rescue to recovery of the crew and pieces of the wreckage.

Two bodies have been found; the Air Force, without elaborating, said in a news release that forensic specialists were trying to identify additional remains recovered.

"Losing this bomber crew has been a tragedy felt by everyone here and across the Air Force," said Brig. Gen. Doug Owens, commander of the 36th Wing.


The six crew members were identified as Maj. Christopher M. Cooper, 33, aircraft commander; Maj. Brent D. Williams, 37, navigator; Capt. Michael K. Dodson, 31, co-pilot; 1st Lt. Joshua D. Shepherd, 25, navigator; 1st Lt. Robert D. Gerren, 32, electronic warfare officer; and Col. George Martin, 51, flight surgeon.

Martin was also the deputy commander of 36th Medical Group at Andersen Air Force Base.

"Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with the families of these airmen," said Col. Robert Wheeler, 2d Bomb Wing commander. "We appreciate the military and civilian organizations who are continuing recovery efforts to bring our airmen home."

A panel of Air Force officers is investigating the crash.

The unarmed bomber crashed Monday during a swing around the island as part of Guam Liberation Day celebrations, marking the day when the U.S. military arrived to retake control of the island from Japan during World War II. The B-52 had been scheduled to conduct a flyover in a parade.

The Coast Guard, Navy, Air Force, National Guard and local agencies scoured more than 7,000 square miles of the Pacific in three days before suspending the search for survivors.

"It's extremely difficult to suspend this search," said Capt. Thomas Sparks, commanding officer of the Coast Guard's Sector Guam. "Our hearts go out to the families of the victims and the entire Coast Guard grieves for their loss."

The crew was based at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana. Flags were being flown at half-staff at the Louisiana state Capitol to honor them. They were deployed to Guam with the 20th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron as part of the U.S. military's continuous bomber presence mission in the Pacific.

The B-52 was carrying nearly 19,000 gallons of jet fuel when it crashed but the National Oceanic Atmospheric Association determined there was no threat to the environment because all or most of the fuel had burned, the Coast Guard said.

B-52s have been the backbone of the U.S. military's manned strategic bomber force for more than four decades, used for missions from attacks to ocean surveillance. They are capable of dropping or launching the widest array of weapons in the U.S. inventory, including cluster bombs and precision guided missiles.

B-52s were first placed into service in 1955, and 93 remain in the Air Force's fleet.

The Air Force has been rotating B-1, B-2 and B-52 bombers through Guam since 2004 to boost the U.S. security presence in the Asia-Pacific region while other U.S. forces in the area have been sent to the Middle East.


Monday's crash is the third for the military this year on Guam, a U.S. territory 3,700 miles southwest of Hawaii.

A Navy EA-6B Prowler electronic warfare aircraft crashed into the ocean Feb. 12. Four crew members ejected from the aircraft and were rescued by helicopter.

Eleven days later, an Air Force B-2 crashed at Andersen shortly after takeoff in the first-ever crash of a stealth bomber. Both pilots ejected safely. The military estimated the cost of the loss of the aircraft at $1.4 billion.

The Air Force's last crash involving a B-52 was also to perform for spectators.

On June 24, 1994, a bomber was practicing touch-and-go landings before an air show at Fairchild Air Force Base in Washington state when it plunged to the ground and exploded, killing all four on board, according to the Air Combat Command in Langley Air Force Base, Va.
 
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