Officials Identify 8 Men Killed in B-52 Crash

The eight men killed in this week's fiery crash of a B-52 during a test flight at California's Edwards Air Force Base included four active duty airmen, a reservist, and three civilians who were on a team devoted to keeping the bomber flying for decades to come, military officials said Wednesday. The airfield where the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress crashed shortly after takeoff on Monday remained closed but other base operations have resumed, according to a base spokesperson. No cause has been determined. Officials said it could take six months to complete the investigation.

• The victims were identified as: Col. Gregory Watson, 53; Retired Lt. Col. Miles Middleton, 50; Lt. Col. Gabriel Estrella, 40; Maj. Alexander Davis, 34; Maj. Robert Dee, 40; Maj. Brad Hovey, 35; Jeromy Smith, 32; and Christopher Rischar, 41.

"They were dedicated professionals, beloved family members, and irreplaceable teammates," Col. Thomas Tauer, commander of the 412th Test Wing at Edwards, said in a statement. Watson, a weapons systems officer, and Middleton, a pilot, were Boeing employees and the company said their loss "is deeply felt across our teams, and our hearts remain with their families, loved ones, and those who worked with them."

• Rischar was a flight test engineer with government contractor JT4 who had worked at Edwards for 10 years, said his wife, Rebecca Rischar. She said he loved going to airplane museums and showing their two children, 15 and 14, different types of aircraft and how they functioned. She recalled how her husband's father, who also works at the base and had seen the crash, called her to ask if Christopher had been flying. "I knew he was on that flight," she said Wednesday. "It was routine, and if the plane went up, he was going up with it."

The B-52 that crashed Monday was taking part in a test mission as part of a program aimed at making the 65-year-old bomber fleet operable through at least 2050. The bomber had arrived at Edwards in December after having a modernized radar installed at Boeing's facility in San Antonio, an Air Force press release said at the time. The plan was to use the bomber as a testbed throughout 2026 to help military officials decide whether to proceed with the B-52 Radar Modernization Program, the Air Force said. For almost a decade before the plane served as a testing platform, it was based in Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, where the bomber was the flagship of the 307th Bomb Wing.

• The aircraft took off shortly before noon on a clear day, heading southwest into the prevailing winds. It flew straight and crashed on the same 15,000-foot runway. The compact wreckage indicates the plane dropped sharply. Aviation safety experts have said their first thoughts about what might have caused the crash were about a malfunction in the flight controls or engines, but it is much too early to know. Investigators will consider several factors, including the age and maintenance of the plane.
• Edwards is home to the 412th Test Wing, which conducts regular developmental testing of all Air Force aircraft, weapons systems, software and components before purchase by the service as well as throughout their life span. Test missions take place at Edwards daily, officials said.
• Lauren Smith told KBAK that her husband, Jeromy Smith, was a flight test engineer for the US Department of Defense and died doing what he loved. The couple's two children are 2 years old and 4 months old. "It is such a horrible hurt, and I'm still processing everything that happened," she said Tuesday.