B-52 bomber crashes off Guam
HONOLULU (AP) - July 21, 2008 At least two people from the bomber's six-man crew were
recovered from the waters, but their condition was not immediately
available, the Coast Guard said.
Maj. Stuart Upton, a Pentagon spokesman, said the aircraft was
unarmed.
Six vessels, three helicopters, two F-15 fighter jets and a B-52
bomber were involved in the search, which had covered about 70
square miles of ocean, said Coast Guard spokeswoman Lt. Elizabeth
Buendia.
"We have an active search that's going to go on throughout the
night," she said Monday. The Navy, Coast Guard, Air Force and
local fire and police departments were involved.
The B-52 bomber based at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana
was en route to conduct a flyover in a parade when it crashed
around 9:45 a.m. Monday about 30 miles northwest of Apra Harbor,
the Air Force said.
The Liberation Day parade celebrates the day when the U.S.
military arrived on Guam to retake control of the island from
Japan.
The Air Force said a board of officers will investigate the
accident.
The accident is the second for the Air Force this year on Guam,
a U.S. territory 3,700 miles southwest of Hawaii.
In February, a B-2 crashed at Andersen Air Force Base 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 B-52 is a long-range, heavy bomber that can refuel in mid
air. Since the 159 foot-long bomber was first placed into service
in 1955, it has been used for a wide range of missions from attacks
to ocean surveillance. Two B-52s, in two hours, can monitor 140,000
square miles of ocean surface.
According to the Air Force's Web site, the B-52 Stratofortress
has been the backbone of the manned strategic bomber force for the
United States for more than four decades. It is capable of dropping
or launching the widest array of weapons in the U.S. inventory,
including cluster bombs and precision guided missiles.