No munitions on board B-2 that crashed

[unhappycamper]

Smoke billows from the runway at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, on Feb. 23 after a B-2 stealth bomber crashed. The two pilots aboard the bomber ejected before the crash and are safe, the Air Force said.


No munitions on board B-2 that crashed
Staff and wire reports
Posted : Saturday Feb 23, 2008 16:06:16 EST

A B-2 stealth bomber crashed on the runway Saturday at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, completely destroying the aircraft, an officer at Andersen confirmed. It was the first time a B-2 had ever crashed.

The two pilots from the 509th Bomb Wing ejected safely. Both have been checked by medical staff and are in good condition, according to a Pacific Air Forces statement.

The aircraft was taking off with three others on their last flight out of Guam after a four-month deployment, part of a continuous U.S. bomber presence in the western Pacific. After the crash, the other three bombers were being kept on Guam, said Maj. Eric Hilliard at Hickham Air Force Base in Hawaii.

Area residents told a local TV station they saw black plumes of smoke coming from the base about 10:45 a.m. local time, indicating the aircraft’s impact. Emergency vehicles on base immediately reported to the scene of the crash. No other injuries have been reported at Andersen.

All 21 stealth bombers are based at Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo., but the Air Force has been rotating several of them through Guam since 2004. Four of the 509th’s B-2s are currently deployed to Andersen and were scheduled to return to Missouri now that six B-52s from the 96th Bomb Wing at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, have arrived to replace them.


Rest of article at: http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2008/02/ap_b2_guamcrash_022208/