Eight people are dead after a B-52 crash at Edwards Air Force Base in southern California.
The aircraft went down immediately after takeoff on Monday at 11:20 local time while on a routine test mission.
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A huge plume of black smoke rose into the sky and could be seen for miles.
Col James Hayes described it as a terrible tragedy and said the base lost eight great Americans.
The crew was a mix of military personnel, government civilians, and government contractors.
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Initial indications suggest the crash was not survivable.
Hayes confirmed the incident was totally contained within the base on the runway.
After reviewing early footage, officials deemed it an unrecoverable crash.
The base has temporarily grounded all operations and closed the airfield.
All inbound aircraft are being diverted and non-commercial visitor passes have been suspended until further notice.
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The B-52 was supporting the base radar modernisation programme when the crash occurred.
The aircraft burst into flames immediately after takeoff.
Aerial footage showed a charred and smoking landscape where the wreckage came to rest.
No cause has been determined yet and officials said investigations could take up to 30 days.
Further cause analysis might stretch beyond six months.
The next of kin are being notified and the crew will be named 24 hours after that process is complete.
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Boeing confirmed two of its employees were among those onboard.
The aerospace giant said it is in contact with their families but declined to comment further.
California Governor Gavin Newsom called the crash a tragic incident and offered condolences to the victims families and the base community.
US Representative Vince Fong whose district includes part of the base wrote that it was absolutely heartbreaking and said God bless the eight crew members on board.
Congressman Jay Obernolte said he and his wife are praying for everyone involved especially the crew, their families, and the first responders on scene.
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The B-52 Stratofortress has been a workhorse for the US military since the 1950s.
It is nicknamed the Buff which is partly short for Big Ugly Fat.
The aircraft is a long range strategic bomber that has been participating in bombing raids during the US and Israel war in Iran.
It can fly at up to 50,000 feet and carry a payload of 70,000 pounds including hundreds of conventional bombs and 32 nuclear cruise missiles.
Mid-flight refuelling gives the B-52 a potentially unlimited strike range.
The plane typically carries a crew of five including an aircraft commander, pilot, radar navigator, navigator, and electronic warfare officer.
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Edwards Air Force Base sits roughly 100 miles north of Los Angeles in the Mojave Desert.
Michigan Congresswoman Lisa McClain also weighed in, thanking emergency crews and saying service members carry the weight of this nation defence every single day.
The investigation now begins into what caused a routine test mission to end in one of the deadliest crashes in recent base history.
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Eight people gone just like that and a routine test mission turns into a nightmare rip to those souls
Two Boeing employees onboard too and thats a detail that hits different when you work in the industry
The fact that initial footage was deemed unsurvivable is just chilling man they knew instantly there was nothing to be done
B-52 has been flying since the 1950s and still doing test missions in 2026 thats wild when you think about it
Old airframe old problems maybe but we wont know cause for months
The Buff just keeps going and going like the old girl refuses to retire
Planned to fly until 2050 apparently so we got another 24 years of this beast
They said it was supporting radar modernisation so the irony is they were testing upgrades and then this happens
Modernising a 70 year old plane always sounded like a gamble to me but what do I know
These things go through constant upgrades and they are generally safe but when they go wrong they go really wrong
Nobody will say anything solid until investigations wrap up and that could be six months plus
The base closed the airfield and suspended visitor passes and that tells you how serious this is from the get go
Standard procedure after a crash like this but still surreal to see a whole base go dark
Edwards is where they test everything experimental too so the whole aviation world will be watching the investigation
Prayers up for the families and the first responders who had to walk into that scene and know there was nothing they could do
Eight great Americans like he said and a mixed crew too civilians and military working side by side gone together
Col Hayes looked shaken in that briefing you could tell this one hit the base hard