June 16, 2026 — 5:56amEdwards, California: A B-52 Stratofortress bomber crashed shortly after take-off at an air force base in Southern California’s Mojave Desert, officials said.Emergency crews were responding after the aircraft went down about 11.20am on Monday (4.20am Tuesday AEST) at Edwards Air Force Base, the US military said in a post on X. There was no immediate information on whether anyone was hurt.The B-52 Stratofortress crash site in California.Fox 11 Los AngelesVideo from the scene showed a huge plume of black smoke rising from the desert.The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress, typically crewed by five people, is a long-range bomber that entered service in 1955. 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.Edwards, the vast desert base where Chuck Yeager broke the speed of sound in 1947, is about 160 kilometres north of Los Angeles.The crash comes almost a year after the pilot of a regional airliner flying over North Dakota last July made an unexpected sharp turn to avoid a possible midair collision with a military B-52 bomber that was in its flight path.A B-52 Stratofortress flying in Texas in May.Getty ImagesMore to comeAPGet a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what’s making headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter.From our partners