B-2 down in Guam (Merged)

[Springer1]

CNN is reporting with video that a B-2 crashed on takeoff in Guam. Both crew members ejected safely.

[Mick.B]

From ABC

A United States B-2 bomber has crashed at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam but the two pilots on board ejected safely, the US Air Force says.
"They have been evaluated by medical authorities and are in good condition," the Air Force said in a statement.
An Air Force spokeswoman was not immediately available for further details.

[Ian Corrigible]

BBC reports B-2 down in Guam, crew ejected safely (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7260231.stm).

"Each B-2 stealth bomber costs about $1.2bn and the US Air Force is thought to have 21 of the aircraft."

Not any more it doesn't... :(

I/C

[DOWN_SOUTH_AGAIN]

The reported B-2 crash follows a week after a EA-6B Prowler from VAQ-136 crashed shortly after take-off. All four crew members were released from hospital a day later.

[Major Cong]

But how are they going to find the wreckage!
:):):):):)

[fendant]

Stealthy Eurofighter Typhoon can see him;) ( they also can "see" the expensive F 22 , which has anyway difficulties to cross the date line).

Frank

[Daysleeper]

some low quality long range video of post crash fire Pacific News Center (http://pacificnewscenter.com/default.asp?sourceid=&smenu=97&twindow=Default&mad=No&sdetail=20857&wpage=&skeyword=&sidate=&ccat=&ccatm=&restate=&restatus=&reoption=&retype=&repmin=&repmax=&rebed=&rebath=&subname=&pform=&sc=1718&hn=pacificnewscenter&he=.com)

Looks like its next to the runway on the base.

[sevenstrokeroll]

HAGATNA, Guam -- A B-2 stealth bomber crashed Saturday at an Air Force base on Guam, but both pilots ejected safely and were in good condition, the Air Force said.

It was the first crash of a B-2 bomber, said Capt. Sheila Johnston, a spokeswoman for Air Combat Command at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia.

Thick, black smoke could be seen billowing from the wreckage at Andersen Air Force Base, said Jeanne Ward, a resident in the northern village of Yigo who was on the base visiting her husband.

Ward said she did not witness the crash but noticed a rising plume of smoke behind the base's air control tower.

She said crowds began to gather as emergency vehicles arrived. "Everybody was on their cellphones, and the first thing everyone wanted to know was did the pilots make it out in time," she said.

A board of officers will investigate the accident.

Each B-2 bomber costs about $1.2 billion to build.

Guam is a U.S. territory 3,700 miles southwest of Hawaii.

[Tight Slot]

"read my lips, no new taxes" Hmmm, might have to be now, couple of billion dollars down the swanny!

Hope the crew are ok.

[flt_lt_w_mitty]

Two in one day (http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=314944) - that really is bad luck.

[AHQHI656SQN]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7260231.stm

That would wipe out the UK defence budget!

I hope there is a speedy recovery for the crew.

[ORAC]

Be useful if you checked the previous new threads on the same page.....

[Irish Tempest]

Oooooh is it a broken arrow... ?::eek:

[AHQHI656SQN]

Doh! :\

More work on the uppers!

[jackharr]

Not a very impressive stealth aircraft if it produces a visible "rising plume of smoke" when it crashes :)

Jack Harrison

[beamender99]

Another news item

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-02-22-b2-crash_N.htm

"The Air Force, without identifying the pilots, said one was medically evaluated and released, and the other was in stable condition at Guam Naval Hospital."

[EchoMike]

AM news - 10:45 AM local time (Guam time) a B-2 Stealth bomber crashed either on takeoff or very shortly after takeoff from Anderson AFB on Guam.

Both pilots ejected, one is fine, other is in "stable" condition. Appears to have been a repositioning flight back to CONUS, no ordinance involved, no casualties or reported damage on the ground.

All information is preliminary, subject to change at any time, we all know how accurate the media is. There were 21 B-2s in the fleet, scratch one (at 1.2 Billion dollars per copy). More to follow.

(Quick update - news photo shows cloud of smoke on runway, so crash occurred on the base, not off base. Confirm no ordinance on board. B-2 evidently has zero-zero ejection seats.)

[bnt]

Some more details available at Guam Pacific Daily News: link (http://www.guampdn.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080224/NEWS01/802240311/1002).

There's $2,200,000,000 we won't see again... :ooh:

[iws]

Good job it stops being stealth when it blows up, otherwise they would never find it......................

[L J R]

Lieutenant Colonel Doug Smith from the USAF told the BBC that the crash would be investigated.



Well there is a surprise, surely they could crack on without an investigation.

[beamender99]

http://tinyurl.com/yuom4m

[DelaneyT]

There's $2,200,000,000 we won't see again...

..that's for sure -- might as well have tossed 50 tons of pure gold bullion into the Marianas Trench off Guam.

A B-2 Bomber would indeed be cheaper if it were made of pure gold.

The official USAF claim of $1.2 Billion is a very conservative representation of a single B-2 flyaway cost -- it's at least double that from a U.S. taxpayer perspective. The program cost was $45 Billion for 21 aircraft (1990's U.S. Dollars & U.S. 'billion')

An empty B-2 weighs 100,000 U.S pounds & gold is now about $950 per troy ounce = $ 1,385,000,000 in today's Dollars.

[BEagle]

Err, the money has already been spent.

It will only be expensive to the tax payer if they decide to build another.

[The AvgasDinosaur]

Am I right in thinking the exotic materials used in the construction of "Stealthy" aircraft, Ram etc etc are very highly toxic when burnt?
Could be serious for the fire and rescue guys out there.
Hope everyone is OK
Be lucky
David

[Flyingblind]

OK, as unfortunate as this crash was, dos it not demonstrate the fallacy of extremely limited (21 frames?) production runs?

The extreme expense of a replacement aircraft would not lend themselves to the next cash strapped US Government.

MR4 anyone?

[Thaihawk]

Tail number for this airplane is reported as 89-0127 'Spirit of Kansas'.

The airplane was totally destroyed.

For the spotters this airplane was the one in the 1997 RIAT Fairford fly-past.

The EA-6B that crashed 28 miles off Guam on 12 February is reported as bureau number 161115 code NF-507 from VAQ-136,assigned to CVW-5 out of Yokosuka,Japan.

Fortunatly all the crews from both these accidents escaped with their lives.

[LowObservable]

Ah, the old $2 billion bomber....

B-2s are not cheap. Bombers never are. However, the $2 billion unit cost of a B-2 is a number created by politicians. The price went to $850 million when the fleet was chopped from 132 to 75 jets, and to $2 billion when it was cut to 21.

And had we stayed at 75, or even done what some suggested in the early 1990s and just trickle-built them ($550 m flyaway, less than the Navy spends today for a toy boat with a 57 mm gun), we'd be looking at an upgrade program today, not a brand-new bomber.

[galaxy flyer]

Based on the news report from Guam, they have moved Guam south from where it was last time I was there. Track outbound from KATHS is 271 degrees.

[TheInquisitor]

The program cost was $45 Billion for 21 aircraft

Still cheaper than the Typhoon programme, though...

...alternatively, we could upgrade about 30 miles of train track for that money in Blair's / Brown's Britain...

...or buy half a 'Northern Rock'...

[Brian Abraham]

From Avweb today

B-2 Spirit Crash Update
The B-2 Spirit "Stealth Bomber" that crashed Saturday, Feb. 23, at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, was on fire prior to the crash, according to a report cited by the Air Force Times. The fire, which was reported shortly after takeoff, was followed by an uncommanded and uncontrollable roll to the right. The aircraft crashed between the ramp and taxiway at approximately 10:45 a.m. local time, and not before both pilots had safely ejected. One of the pilots suffered spinal compression and as of Thursday remained in the hospital. The crashed aircraft, the Spirit of Kansas, a part of the 509th Bomber Wing, had more than 5,000 flight hours. The remaining fleet is not "grounded" but under a "safety pause," according to the Air Force -- the aircraft could be called to service if tasked with a mission. During the safety pause, six B-52s have arrived "to replace" the remaining three B-2s in Guam. An investigation is under way, led by a board of officers; no causal information had been released at the time of this writing.

[Rigger1]

B2's Grounded - sorry, "on a safety pause", F15 A,B,C,D's grounded - what's next, so its all B52's F16's and 707's, the USAF is going to run out of aircraft soon, how old is what's left flying?

[Wader2]

The aircraft crashed between the ramp and taxiway at approximately 10:45 a.m. local time, and not before both pilots had safely ejected.

after?





.

[Farmer 1]

Yes, Wader2. After.

[Brian Abraham]

Chief of Air Combat Command saying "aircraft rotated early, rotated excessively, stalled and dragged the left wing tip". C of G maintained by transferring fuel between fore and aft tanks and article questions if malfunctioning or mis-setting of system may play a role.