Los Angeles.- The United States Air Force released on Wednesday the names of the eight people who died after a B-52 Stratofortress crashed this week after taking off from Edwards Air Force Base in California.
The eight victims lost their lives during a routine operation and were pilots, weapons systems officers, and flight test engineers linked to Edwards Base, Boeing, and contractor companies, ranging in age from 32 to 53 years old.
Colonel Thomas Tauer, commander of the 412th Test Wing, told workers and family members at the test center that the deceased “were dedicated professionals, beloved members of their families, and irreplaceable teammates,” according to a statement released by the institution.
According to the document, the names are released after a 24-hour waiting period following the completion of all notifications to next of kin, in accordance with the Department of War’s policy.
We recommend reading:
More Read
Who were the victims?
The deceased are Colonel Gregory Watson (53 years old); Lieutenant Colonel Gabriel Estrella (40 years old); retired Lieutenant Colonel Miles Middleton (50 years old); Majors Alexander Davis (34 years old), Robert Dee (40 years old), and Brad Hovey (35 years old); and flight test engineers Jeromy Smith (32 years old) and Christopher Rischar (41 years old).
The bomber crashed on June 15 shortly after taking off from Edwards airfield at 11:20 local time (17:20 GMT)», explained the Edwards Air Force Base X account.
The armed forces added that emergency teams arrived “immediately” at the scene of the accident and that the military installation “will provide more information as it becomes available”.
More Read
The B-52 Stratofortress is a long-range bomber introduced in the 1950s that remains a key piece of the U.S. military’s air power.
The military aircraft is manufactured by Boeing; this aircraft is capable of carrying conventional and nuclear weapons over long distances and participated in conflicts ranging from Vietnam to operations in the Iran war.
Several images taken in the vicinity of the air base, located in Kern County (about 200 kilometers northwest of Los Angeles), show a large plume of black smoke in the area where the aircraft crashed.
