{"id":2256,"date":"2026-06-18T11:32:52","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T11:32:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2256"},"modified":"2026-06-18T11:32:52","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T11:32:52","slug":"military-officials-identify-all-8-victims-of-fiery-b-52-crash-at-california-air-force-base","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2256","title":{"rendered":"Military officials identify all 8 victims of fiery B-52 crash at California Air Force base"},"content":{"rendered":"
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LOS ANGELES (AP) \u2014 The eight men killed in this week\u2019s fiery\u00a0crash of a B-52\u00a0during a test flight at California\u2019s\u00a0Edwards Air Force Base\u00a0included 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.<\/p>\n

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The airfield where the\u00a0Boeing\u00a0B-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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were dedicated professionals, beloved family members and irreplaceable teammates,\u201d Col. Thomas Tauer, commander of the 412th Test Wing at Edwards, said in a statement.<\/p>\n

Watson, a weapons systems officer, and Middleton, a pilot, were Boeing employees and the company said their loss \u201cis deeply felt across our teams, and our hearts remain with their families, loved ones and those who worked with them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Engineer remembered for his passion for flight<\/h3>\n

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.<\/p>\n

She recalled how her husband\u2019s father, who also works at the base and had seen the crash, called her to ask if Christopher had been flying.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew he was on that flight,\u201d she said Wednesday. \u201cIt was routine, and if the plane went up, he was going up with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rebecca and Christopher met at a church youth group while attending the same high school in nearby Lancaster and had celebrated their 17th wedding anniversary in April. He had just started helping their teenage daughter learn how to drive.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur marriage is not just for this life here on Earth but for eternity, so we are sealed together,\u201d she told The Associated Press.<\/p>\n

Bomber was part of a test program<\/h3>\n

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\u2019s facility in San Antonio, an Air Force press release said at the time.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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Its pilot, Col. Bruce Cox \u2014 an alumni of Texas A&M — dubbed the bomber \u201cThe Spirit of Aggieland.\u201d An Air Force press release from 2015 said that the bomber was \u201cdedicated to former and future cadets that graduated from Texas A&M; University\u2019s Corps of Cadets Program.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cox would go on to take his final flight aboard the bomber in 2017 before retirement, according to the unit\u2019s Facebook page.<\/p>\n

The crash came quickly<\/h3>\n

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 (4,572-meter) runway. The compact wreckage indicates the plane dropped sharply.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Aerial footage showed virtually nothing left of the aircraft that went down at the base in the Mojave Desert about 100 miles (161 km) northeast of Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

Lauren Smith told Eyewitness News KBAK-CBS and FOX58 that her husband, Jeromy Smith, was a flight test engineer for the U.S. Department of Defense and died doing what he loved.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is such a horrible hurt, and I\u2019m still processing everything that happened,\u201d she said Tuesday.<\/p>\n

The B-52, a long-range bomber that entered service in 1955, is designed to carry both conventional and nuclear weapons. It has been\u00a0used in conflicts involving the U.S. military from Vietnam\u00a0to Iran. .<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

The base is where\u00a0Air Force test pilot Chuck Yeager\u00a0reached a speed of Mach 1.05 and broke the sound barrier in 1947.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Rush reported from Portland, Oregon, and Toropin from Washington, D.C. Associated Press journalist Josh Funk contributed from Omaha, Nebraska.<\/p>\n

Read more Traffickers sentenced as Arizona AG sounds alarm on carfentanil<\/a><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Military officials identified all eight people killed in this week\u2019s fiery\u00a0crash of a B-52\u00a0in California. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2255,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2256","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nMilitary officials identify all 8 victims of fiery B-52 crash at California Air Force base - Tucson Moving Report<\/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:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2256\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Military officials identify all 8 victims of fiery B-52 crash at California Air Force base - 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