2008 Guam B-52 crash - Misplaced Pages

(Redirected from 2008 Andersen Air Force Base B-52 crash) Fatal crash of a United States Air Force (USAF) B-52H Stratofortress on 21 July 2008

2008 Guam B-52 crash
Accident
B-52H 60-0053 in February 2004
Date	21 July 2008 (2008-07-21)
Summary	Horizontal stabilizer malfunction
Site	Pacific Ocean northwest of Apra Harbor, Guam 13°44′27″N 144°17′05″E / 13.7407°N 144.2848°E / 13.7407; 144.2848
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Boeing B-52H Stratofortress
Aircraft name	Louisiana Fire
Operator	United States Air Force
Registration	60-0053
Flight origin	Andersen Air Force Base
Destination	Andersen Air Force Base
Occupants	6
Crew	6
Fatalities	6
Survivors	0

On 21 July 2008, a United States Air Force (USAF) B-52H Stratofortress operating out of Andersen Air Force Base, crashed into the Pacific Ocean during a training flight approximately 30 nautical miles (56 km) northwest of Apra Harbor, Guam. The training flight was to include participation in a local municipal celebration of Liberation Day in Hagåtña. All six crew members aboard the aircraft were killed and the aircraft was destroyed.

An investigation by the USAF determined that the crash was likely caused by an improper stabilizer trim setting. The investigation was unable to determine conclusively what had caused the horizontal stabilizer trim to be set improperly, but theorized that the most likely cause was an aircraft system malfunction.

Crash

On 21 July 2008, a United States Air Force (USAF) B-52H Stratofortress crashed into the Pacific Ocean approximately 30 nautical miles (56 km) northwest of Apra Harbor, Guam, after taking off from Andersen Air Force Base. The aircraft, named "Louisiana Fire" and with the mission call sign of "RAIDR 21", was about to participate in a flyover for the Liberation Day parade in Hagåtña. It crashed at 9:55 am (local time), 21 July, five minutes before they were scheduled to fly over the parade. Air traffic control radar images indicated that the aircraft appeared to be descending rapidly before disappearing from radar scopes at about 2,000 feet (610 m) of altitude.

On 23 July 2008, the USAF announced that there were no survivors, and that the rescue effort had turned to a recovery mission for four still-missing members of the crew of six.

Aircraft and crew

The bomber, assigned to the 20th Bomb Squadron, was, with its crew, on temporary duty at Andersen as part of a four-month rotation. The bomber's unit had replaced Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit bombers which had been grounded following the loss of one of them on 23 February that year.

The crew of RAIDR 21 were: Major Christopher M. Cooper, aged 33 (aircraft commander), Major Brent D. Williams, aged 37 (radar navigator), Captain Michael K. Dodson, aged 31 (co-pilot), First Lieutenant Joshua D. Shepherd, aged 25 (navigator), First Lieutenant Robert D. Gerren, aged 32 (electronic warfare officer), and Colonel George Martin, aged 51. Martin, a flight surgeon, was the deputy commander of 36th Medical Group at Andersen. He was aboard in the Number 6 crew position to ride along for the Liberation Day "Fly Over". The rest of the crew members were from the 20th Bomb Squadron or the 96th Bomb Squadron at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. While bodies and remains were recovered from the area, Dodson's and Gerren's remains were not recovered. A memorial service for the crew was held at Arlington National Cemetery on 14 November 2008. A memorial monument was unveiled at Adelup Point on Guam in July 2009.

Recovery and investigation

The USAF worked with the United States Navy and USS John S. McCain to map and retrieve the aircraft's wreckage from the ocean floor. The wreckage did not include a flight data recorder because the aircraft was not equipped with one.

The accident investigation board concluded that the horizontal stabilizer was set at a down angle during the training mission. The cause of the mishap was an improper stabilizer trim setting. Due to the lack of available evidence, no surviving crew members, no radio calls, no other witnesses and lack of a data recorder, the accident investigation board was unable to determine by clear and convincing evidence why the stabilizer trim was mispositioned. The investigation board felt that the most likely cause of this runaway stabilizer trim was a system malfunction that would have led the stabilizer trim to improperly run in a nose-down direction. The improper trim setting occurred somewhere between 14,000 and 10,000 feet (3,000 m) and caused a rapid and uncontrollable descent the experienced crew could not overcome. Based on the descent profile of the mishap aircraft, there was only 34 seconds from the presumed start of the mishap sequence until impact.

The board president, Brigadier General Mark Barrett explained that two factors led to the crash. The first was the "combination of low altitude with a descending left turn of the aircraft". The second was "the late recognition of the serious nature of the situation by the crew". He added, "any experienced air crew could have found it difficult to recognize, assess and recover from the rapidly developing situation involving the stabilizer trim setting." The USAF also conducted a separate safety investigation into the mishap but did not publicly release its findings.

Notes

"B-52 Bomber Crashes Off Guam", www.wnbc.com, 21 July 2008.
"Search continues for those aboard crashed B-52", KUAM News Archived 7 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine
^ Prime, John Andrew, "Searchers For B-52 Wreckage Face Daunting Challenges", Shreveport (LA) Times, 6 September 2008.
"Six Killed in B-52 Crash Off Guam, Air Force Says", AP, (23 July 2008). Archived 11 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine
"B-52 bomber crashes near Guam", cnn.com, (21 July 2008). Archived 11 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine
^ "B-52 loss not due to pilot error, board concludes". Shreveport Times. 14 February 2009. Retrieved 15 February 2009.
Air Force News, "Remains of B-52 aircrew laid to rest at Arlington", 19 November 2008.
Camire, Dennis, "B-52 Crew To Be Buried at Arlington" Pacific Daily News, 8 November 2008.
Bahret, Brian (21 July 2009). "Guam Airmen honor fallen aircrew with memorial". U.S. Air Force. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
"AF, Navy begin B-52 Recovery", Air Force Times, 1 September 2008, p. 5.
"United States Air Force Aircraft Accident Investigation Board Report" (PDF). Air Combat Command. United States Air Force. 24 November 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 February 2012. Retrieved 18 February 2009.

References

Associated Press (21 July 2008). "B-52 Crashes Off Guam". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 July 2008.
Associated Press (24 July 2008). "Hawaii: All 6 in Bomber Crew Are Dead". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 July 2008.
Military Times (24 July 2008). "Officials identify airmen killed in B-52 crash". Military Times. Archived from the original on 10 February 2012. Retrieved 25 July 2008.
Weaver, Teri (23 July 2008). "Search for four missing airmen continues after B-52 crash off Guam". Stars and Stripes. Archived from the original on 26 July 2008. Retrieved 25 July 2008.
Weaver, Teri (25 July 2008). "Air Force says there were no survivors of B-52 crash off Guam". Stars and Stripes. Archived from the original on 1 August 2008. Retrieved 25 July 2008.

v t e Aviation accidents and incidents in 2008 (2008)
Jan 4 Transaven Turbolet crashJan 12 Macedonian Armed Forces Mi-17 crashJan 17 British Airways Flight 38Jan 23 Polish Air Force C-295 crashFeb 8 Eagle Airways Flight 2279Feb 14 Belavia Flight 1834Feb 21 Santa Bárbara Airlines Flight 518Feb 23 Andersen Air Force Base B-2 accidentMar 30 Biggin Hill Cessna Citation crashApr 3 Blue Wing Airlines An-28 crashApr 11 Kata Air Transport Flight 007Apr 15 Hewa Bora Airways Flight 122May 25 Kalitta Air Flight 207May 26 Moskovia Airlines Flight 9675May 30 TACA Flight 390Jun 10 Sudan Airways Flight 109Jul 7 Centurion Air Cargo Flight 164Jul 21 Guam B-52 crashJul 25 Qantas Flight 30Jul 31 East Coast Jets Flight 81Aug 20 Spanair Flight 5022Aug 24 Iran Aseman Airlines Flight 6895Aug 24 Aéreo Ruta Maya crashAug 28 Sriwijaya Air Flight 062Aug 30 Conviasa Boeing 737 crashSep 14 Aeroflot Flight 821Sep 19 South Carolina Learjet 60 crashOct 7 Qantas Flight 72Oct 8 Yeti Airlines Flight 101Nov 4 Mexico City crashNov 10 Ryanair Flight 4102Nov 27 XL Airways Germany Flight 888TDec 8 San Diego F/A-18 crashDec 20 Continental Airlines Flight 1404
2007 ◄ ► 2009

Aviation accidents and incidents in 2008 (2008)

Jan 4 Transaven Turbolet crashJan 12 Macedonian Armed Forces Mi-17 crashJan 17 British Airways Flight 38Jan 23 Polish Air Force C-295 crashFeb 8 Eagle Airways Flight 2279Feb 14 Belavia Flight 1834Feb 21 Santa Bárbara Airlines Flight 518Feb 23 Andersen Air Force Base B-2 accidentMar 30 Biggin Hill Cessna Citation crashApr 3 Blue Wing Airlines An-28 crashApr 11 Kata Air Transport Flight 007Apr 15 Hewa Bora Airways Flight 122May 25 Kalitta Air Flight 207May 26 Moskovia Airlines Flight 9675May 30 TACA Flight 390Jun 10 Sudan Airways Flight 109Jul 7 Centurion Air Cargo Flight 164Jul 21 Guam B-52 crashJul 25 Qantas Flight 30Jul 31 East Coast Jets Flight 81Aug 20 Spanair Flight 5022Aug 24 Iran Aseman Airlines Flight 6895Aug 24 Aéreo Ruta Maya crashAug 28 Sriwijaya Air Flight 062Aug 30 Conviasa Boeing 737 crashSep 14 Aeroflot Flight 821Sep 19 South Carolina Learjet 60 crashOct 7 Qantas Flight 72Oct 8 Yeti Airlines Flight 101Nov 4 Mexico City crashNov 10 Ryanair Flight 4102Nov 27 XL Airways Germany Flight 888TDec 8 San Diego F/A-18 crashDec 20 Continental Airlines Flight 1404

2007 ◄ ► 2009

Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States and U.S. territories in the 2000s

2000

Alaska Airlines Flight 261 (January 2000)
Zion mid-air collision (February 8 2000)
Emery Worldwide Airlines Flight 17 (February 16 2000)
Southwest Airlines Flight 1455 (March 2000)
East Coast Aviation Services British Aerospace Jetstream crash (May 2000)
Southwest Airlines Flight 1763 (August 2000)

2001

Oklahoma State Cowboys basketball team plane crash (January 2001)
Delta Air Lines Flight 1989 (September 11 2001)
American Airlines Flight 587 (November 2001)

September 11 attacks	American Airlines Flight 11 United Airlines Flight 175 American Airlines Flight 77 United Airlines Flight 93 template

2002

Tampa Cessna 172 crash (January 2002)
Airtanker crashes (June 2002)
America West Airlines Flight 556 (July 1 2002)
FedEx Express Flight 1478 (July 26 2002)

2003

Air Midwest Flight 5481 (January 2003)
Colgan Air Flight 9446 (August 2003)
FedEx Express Flight 647 (December 2003)

2004

Northwest Airlines Flight 327 (June 2004)
Air Tahoma Flight 185 (August 2004)
Pinnacle Airlines Flight 3701 (October 14 2004)
Corporate Airlines Flight 5966 (October 19 2004)

2005

Logan Airport runway incursion (June 2005)
JetBlue Flight 292 (September 2005)
Southwest Airlines Flight 1248 (December 8 2005)
Chalk's Ocean Airways Flight 101 (December 19 2005)

2006

FedEx Express Flight 630 (July 2006)
Comair Flight 5191 (August 2006)
New York City Cirrus SR20 crash (October 11 2006)
Continental Airlines Flight 1883 (October 28 2006)
Mercy Air Bell 412 crash (December 2006)

2007

Blue Angels South Carolina crash (April 2007)
San Francisco International Airport runway incursion (May 2007)
Phoenix news helicopter collision (July 2007)

2008

Andersen Air Force Base B-2 accident (February 2008)*
Guam B-52 crash (July 21 2008)*
East Coast Jets Flight 81 (July 31 2008)
South Carolina Learjet 60 crash (September 2008)
San Diego F/A-18 crash (December 8 2008)
Continental Airlines Flight 1404 (December 20 2008)

2009

US Airways Flight 1549 (January 2009)
Colgan Air Flight 3407 (February 2009)
Southwest Airlines Flight 2294 (July 2009)
Hudson River mid-air collision (August 2009)
Northwest Airlines Flight 188 (October 21 2009)
California mid-air collision (October 29 2009)

This list is incomplete.
An asterisk (*) denotes an incident that took place in a U.S. territory.
1990–1999 ◄ 2000–2009 ► 2010–2019

v t e Aviation accidents and incidents in Guam
World Airways Flight 830 (September 1960) Air Manila Flight 702 (June 1976) Korean Air Flight 801 (August 1997) Andersen Air Force Base B-2 accident (February 2008) Guam B-52 crash (July 2008)

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