A US Air Force B-52 Stratofortress bomber has crashed on takeoff at Edwards Air Force Base in Southern California's Mojave Desert, bursting into flames and killing all eight crew members aboard.
The eight-engine, jet-powered aircraft, built to carry a wide array of nuclear and conventional bombs, was on a routine test mission on Monday morning when it crashed on the runway at Edwards just after leaving the ground, Air Force Colonel James Hayes said at a press conference hours later.
A towering pall of black smoke billowing from the crash site was visible for miles immediately after the accident.
