B52 Bomber crashes

[Wacky Racer]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cqx10yql319o

[Earthdweller]

Terrible hope there's some survivors unlikely I know

[gotoPzero]

Hopefully they punched out, they will have needed some height though as some are downward firing.

[Hippea]

I’m guessing it wasn’t carrying anything nasty?

[darreni]

Have a look at the Fox News aerial footage, there is nothing left.

Terrible.

[heisthegaffer]

Hippea said:

I m guessing it wasn t carrying anything nasty?

According to PPrune, it was testing a new radar hencenthe Boeing employees being on board.

[sparkythecat]

According to Wiki, the last B52 rolled off the production line in 1962.
I can't believe that they are still in use

[butchstewie]

8 dead.

Not surprising from what I saw.

Absolutely horrible.

[Dashnine]

sparkythecat said:

According to Wiki, the last B52 rolled off the production line in 1962.
I can't believe that they are still in use

Triggers broom.

[gotoPzero]

A very unusual accident - clear conditions etc. Civilians on board too.
These aircraft just want to fly as they are designed to carry a lot of weight, so it will be interesting to read what exactly happened but it looks like they didnt make it beyond the airfield so they clearly had something go really wrong.

[LM240]

sparkythecat said:

According to Wiki, the last B52 rolled off the production line in 1962.
I can't believe that they are still in use

And going to be in use a lot longer.

B52 J is another big overhaul with new engines and electronic packages.

[sam.rog]

Sad for the families of all on board.
Is it me or are more US planes falling out the sky in the last couple of years?
Might be confirmation bias on my part but I can’t remember a time when it seems so many are crashing.

[LivLL]

Too low to eject presumably?

[bobbo89]

gotoPzero said:

A very unusual accident - clear conditions etc. Civilians on board too.
These aircraft just want to fly as they are designed to carry a lot of weight, so it will be interesting to read what exactly happened but it looks like they didnt make it beyond the airfield so they clearly had something go really wrong.

Looks to have barely got off the ground given its location on the runway.

[Puddenchucker]

LivLL said:

Too low to eject presumably?

Only 6 ejector seats and 2 of them fire downwards. So, with 8 onboard probably only 4 would have been able to eject.

https://www.ejectionsite.com/b-52.htm

[Jasandjules]

LivLL said:

Too low to eject presumably?

Not ejecting from a B52...

Tragic, I had no idea these dinosaurs were still flying.

[Eric Mc]

Pop along to Fairford at the moment and you will be bound to see a couple.

Of the 800 odd B-52s built, around 80 are still in service - all of them B-52H models.

[gotoPzero]

LivLL said:

Too low to eject presumably?

IIRC >500ft for full sequence and good chance of success.

Min is 250 I think, but the guys going downwards have limited chance. There is a big difference between being under a chute for a brief moment and getting 3 or 4 good swings under a chute.

I think the main issue is the time it takes and also that the systems operators dont really know what is going on so you are waiting for someone else to command it.

We also dont know for sure seats were fitted on this particular airframe.

[J4CKO]

Jasandjules said:

LivLL said:

Too low to eject presumably?

Not ejecting from a B52...

Tragic, I had no idea these dinosaurs were still flying.

They do the job, the airframe is the same but effectively its a restomod plane, wont be much left of everything but the airframe.

The B2 goes in first, all stealthy and does a number on the enemy, then the B1 goes in and makes more of a mess so the B52 can fly in and pound stuff without any nasty air defence or anything, does seem to work at that level as a plan, its just the wider tactics that need work....

They will be over 100 years old before they leave service, the B21 Raider in part, will replace it but there is no direct successor yet.

[Eric Mc]

A number of aircraft over the decades were supposed to replace the B-52. None of them really have -

The B-70 Valkyrie
The B-B Lancer
The B-2 Spirit

I loved the early B-52s (B-52A to F). They were even smokier than the current H models and featured a tall tail fin. Famously, a couple of very early B-52s (A models) were used by the USAF and NASA as "drop ships" for the X-15, lifting body and finally, the Pegasus programme.