{"id":1372,"date":"2026-06-17T17:41:32","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T17:41:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=1372"},"modified":"2026-06-17T17:41:32","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T17:41:32","slug":"pentagon-releases-names-of-8-people-killed-in-b-52-plane-crash-at-california-air-force-base","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=1372","title":{"rendered":"Pentagon releases names of 8 people killed in B-52 plane crash at California Air Force base"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The military on Wednesday released the names of the eight people who were killed this week when a B-52 bomber crashed shortly after takeoff from Edwards Air Force Base in California.<\/p>\n

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They are: Col. Gregory Watson, 53; Lt. Col. Gabriel Estrella, 40; Retired Lt. Col. Miles Middleton, 50; Maj. Alexander Davis, 34; Maj. Robert Dee, 40; Maj. Brad Hovey, 35; Flight test engineer Jeromy Smith, 32; and Flight test engineer Christopher Rischar, 41.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

\u201cThe total number of aircrews on board was eight, including several flight test engineers who are essential to developmental test operations,\u201d the 412th Test Wing of the Air Force, which oversees base operations, said in a statement before the names were unveiled.<\/p>\n

Boeing, the manufacturer of the B-52 Stratofortress, confirmed in the aftermath of Monday\u2019s catastrophic crash that two of its employees had been killed.<\/p>\n

The name of Jeromy Smith, a civilian flight-test engineer for the Department of Defense, emerged on Tuesday. Four months before he was killed, Smith became a father for the second time.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy husband just went back to work,\u201d his widow, Lauren Smith, told NBC News. \u201cHe was there for just a week.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Smith, who was also the father of a 2-year-old named Fletcher, had worked on projects at the base for 10 years, Lauren Smith said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe did not see this coming,\u201d his wife of six years said.<\/p>\n

Lauren Smith said Monday\u2019s flight had originally been scheduled for Friday.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey go through tons of safety things before they even take off,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd I know specifically on Friday they had \u2014 they were gonna fly on Friday, and they just kept pushing it back and pushing it back.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cAnd I don\u2019t think that plane was ready to take off, and I\u2019m so sad it did,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The Stratofortress, which is a long-range bomber capable of carrying nuclear weapons, was on a \u201croutine test mission\u201d when it suddenly went down, Air Force Col. James Hayes told reporters Monday.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

\u201cGiven the swiftness of the crash after departure, the incident was declared unsurvivable,\u201d officials said in a statement.<\/p>\n

But they declined to speculate on what could have caused the catastrophic crash. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe Accident Investigation Board process has formally commenced; these types of investigations can take up to six months for initial conclusions on the cause of the crash,\u201d the officials said.<\/p>\n

Nicknamed \u201cthe Buff,\u201d for Big Ugly Fat Fellow, the B-52 been the go-to bomber for the U.S. military since 1955, according to Air Force Global Strike Command.<\/p>\n

Each plane costs $84 million and is manned by a crew of five, including an aircraft commander, a pilot, a radar navigator, a navigator and an electronic warfare officer.<\/p>\n

Edwards Air Force Base is located in the Mojave Desert, about 100 miles north of Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

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The military on Wednesday released the names of the eight people who were killed this week when a B-52 bomber crashed shortly after takeoff from Edwards Air Force Base in California<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1371,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1372","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-u-s-news"],"yoast_head":"\nPentagon releases names of 8 people killed in B-52 plane crash at California Air Force base - Trusted Moving Group<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=1372\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pentagon releases names of 8 people killed in B-52 plane crash at California Air Force base - 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