B-52 crash 30 miles northwest of Guam

[AWACoff]

This happened at 9:45am local time. It was the best Liberation Day festival in 20 years from what the locals say...until we heard about this.

(CNN) -- A U.S. Air Force B-52 with six crew members on board crashed off the island of Guam on Monday, an Air Force spokesman said.

The B-52H Stratofortress was in Guam as part of a four-month rotation.

Rescuers with the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Navy were searching a point in the Pacific Ocean about 30 miles northwest of Guam, a U.S. territory, where the plane is believed to have crashed, said Capt. Joel Stark, spokesman for Andersen Air Force Base.
He had no information on whether anyone survived.
The B-52H Stratofortress was based at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana, and was in Guam as part of a four-month rotation, Stark said.
It went down about 9:45 a.m. local time (7:45 p.m. ET Sunday).
A B-52 from Andersen Air Force Base was scheduled to fly over crowds celebrating Liberation Day, which commemorates the U.S. capture of Guam from Japan in 1944, Stark said.

But it was unclear whether the plane that crashed was the one that had been scheduled to perform the flyover. E-mail to a friend

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All About Guam

 

[AWACoff]

BREAKING NEWS: 4 p.m. - More than 60 miles covered in search for B52 crew



Pacific Daily News • [email protected] • July 21, 2008
http://www.newsvine.com/_tools/seed

• What’s this?

4 p.m. - Search teams have scanned more than 60 miles of ocean looking for six crewmembers of a B52 Stratofortress bomber that crashed about 25 miles off Apra Harbor this morning, said Coast Guard Spokeswoman Lt. Elizabeth Buendia.

The combined efforts of the U.S. Coast Guard, Navy, Air Force, Guam Police Department, Guam Fire Department and Drug Enforcement Administration have made the search possible.

Buendia could not say if any crewmembers had been found.

 

[bagasticks]

2 found so far. .

 

[Sluggo_63]

2 found so far. .

Source?? Alive??

 

[MJG]

Damm. What is going on in Guam??

Prayers for them and their families.

 

[bagasticks]

Source?? Alive??

source: AP

condition: unspecified

 

[AWACoff]

I've heard conflicting stories from my friends at Anderson AFB about whether the 2 recovered where alive. 1 of the crew members left behind a pregnant wife. What a terrible tragedy on Liberation Day.

 

[CrewDawg]

Looks like we lost 2.


The Associated Press: Crash of B-52 bomber off Guam kills at least 2

Crash of B-52 bomber off Guam kills at least 2
By JAYMES SONG – 29 minutes ago

HONOLULU (AP) — An Air Force B-52 bomber crashed off Guam on Monday morning, killing at least two airmen and leading to the search of a vast area of the Pacific Ocean for the remaining four crew members, the military said.

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.

Maj. Stuart Upton, a Pentagon spokesman, said the aircraft was unarmed.

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.

 

[propsarebest]

Our 747 at UAM was fueled today by trucks, not by the hydrant system. Connected??

 

[AWACoff]

What is UAM?