B-1 Lancer from Ellsworth AFB crashes

From the USAF Facebook page:

A B-1 Lancer from Ellsworth Air Force Base crashed in Montana today. All four crew members ejected safely with some injuries. Our thoughts and prayers are with the crew and their families.

And the press release on the USAF website is here...

Apparently they were doing a routine training mission, that's really all the information they've got so far. Incredibly lucky that all of the crew got out alive though!!

reply to post by Florasaurus


Witnesses are saying there was an explosion prior to, but I think that was the crew ejecting. The panels over the seats use explosives to blow them off, so it would appear to be an explosion just before the crew coming out.

Least there was no fatalitys.

Be intresting to see what caused it.

reply to post by crazyewok


Sequestration. The aircraft was part of the 28th Bomb Wing out of Ellsworth. The only Bomb Squadrons that are part of the Wing are the 34th and 37th Bomb Squadrons. The 37th was immediately grounded when Sequestration took place, the 34th was grounded when they returned from overseas. Both were expected to be grounded until October, which is the start of the new Fiscal Year, but the Air Force was able to juggle some money and start flying again in July.

But the damage was done to certifications, which means the crews have to requalify, for both combat and for just flying the aircraft. The 37th stood down in April, which means the crews all lost currency, and were training to regain it. The aircraft also didn't fly, which means that leaks start to happen, and problems with tires happen, and even if you go over them with a fine tooth comb, you miss things. On a normal flight from Point A to Point B, at 35,000 feet if you miss something, it's not a problem. On a B-1 mission from Point A, to Point B, at 2500 feet, you miss something, and Bad Things happen.

Wow. I love those bad boys. Too bad to lose one, but fortunately they got out. How old are those lancers now? Was there any comments on what might have occurred from the debriefing or has it not been released.?

Hope it's not a Broken Arrow situation?

reply to post by andy06shake


Of course not. They don't do training flights with nuclear weapons on board.

reply to post by spirit_horse


They're getting long in the tooth, all the bombers are.

It's too soon. I haven't heard anything at all except the early eyewitness accounts.

From the looks of it, the aircraft went straight in. The debris field is pretty tight, with a smaller debris field very close to the main field. The secondary burn area could be where the seats landed, depending on when the crew got out.

www.argusleader.com...

Zaphod58
reply to post by andy06shake

 

Of course not. They don't do training flights with nuclear weapons on board.

Well except minot.

reply to post by boomer135


That technically wasn't a training flight. It was a transit flight from Minot to Barksdale.

reply to post by Zaphod58


I hate hearing such news! I used to crew the B1 bomber when I first joined the Air Force, though back then I was in the 34th Bomb Squadron when it was stationed at Mountain Home AFB, Idaho. I still remember the day when we lost one right off the coast of Diego Garcia in 2001. Nothings worse for a Crew Chief then to lose his aircraft.

reply to post by boomer135

Well except minot.

You went there!

That blunder is one of the reasons they rewrote the whole course 14 SNCO PME.

reply to post by iwan2ski


When I was younger, we had the 6594th Test Group (C-130s, KC-130s [later HC-130s], and HH-53s with refueling probes). They would catch satellites on reentry near Hawaii and bring them back to process the film.

There was a ship in the area (carrying rocket fuel of all things), that had a sick crew member (it appeared to be his appendix) that the doctors wanted airlifted out. The Coast Guard couldn't do it (they had Pelicans at the time, couldn't range out that far), so they asked Test Group if they'd be willing to help. They agreed, and launched two -53s, and a KC-130 (the ship was 3-400 miles out, heading to Honolulu Harbor). Once they arrived, 355, which was primary, moved over the deck and began ops to get him off the deck. While lowering the PJ to the deck, they went in, with no survivors.

It took less than an hour before the entire base just stopped. That's how fast word got around, and everyone was waiting to see who it was, and getting ready to support the families of the crew that wouldn't be home that night.

iwan2ski
reply to post by Zaphod58

 

I still remember the day when we lost one right off the coast of Diego Garcia in 2001. Nothings worse for a Crew Chief then to lose his aircraft.

edit on 19-8-2013 by iwan2ski because: (no reason given)

I went to diego on a deployment right after that. It was surreal.

reply to post by boomer135


It's a small world! Who knows, we could have been there at the same time...and to think that one day we'd conversate on ATS of all places!

iwan2ski
reply to post by boomer135

 

It's a small world! Who knows, we could have been there at the same time...and to think that one day we'd conversate on ATS of all places!

Man I miss that place...

reply to post by Zaphod58

They would catch satellites on reentry near Hawaii and bring them back to process the film.

Discoverer? Or something later on the timeline

reply to post by roadgravel


Both. They started with C-119s and Discoverer, and upgraded to C-130s and HH-53s, and later programs. If they couldn't grab them in the air the helicopters would get them from the surface.

Originally posted by Zaphod58
reply to post by roadgravel

 

Both. They started with C-119s and Discoverer, and upgraded to C-130s and HH-53s, and later programs. If they couldn't grab them in the air the helicopters would get them from the surface.

You are part of some interesting history. Amazing what lengths people will go to in order to have specific information on someone or something. The spy business will never end...