A U.S. Air Force B-52 Stratofortress crashed shortly after takeoff at Edwards Air Force Base at 11:20 a.m. Emergency crews responded to the scene as the base said the situation remained ongoing.
Aerial footage showed a large smoldering burn mark on the land near the crash site. The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is a long-range, heavy, jet-powered strategic bomber, and the crash placed one of the Air Force's best-known aircraft under immediate scrutiny.
Edwards Air Force Base is in the western Mojave Desert, about 100 miles northeast of Los Angeles. No further information was available at this time about the cause of the crash or whether anyone was injured.
For now, the key facts are limited to the crash itself, the response on the ground, and the base's confirmation that the situation was still developing. That leaves the most important details — what brought the bomber down and who, if anyone, was hurt — unanswered.
