US probes stealth bomber crash at Guam air base
US B-2 stealth bomber crashes after take off at Guam air base
Canberra: The US military was investigating on Saturday after a B-2 stealth bomber crashed on take-off from the Pacific island of Guam, the first such incident involving the futuristic craft.
Both pilots on board ejected safely as the $1.2-billion (Dh4.7 billion) radar-evading plane, with its distinctive triangular shape, went down at Andersen airbase on the remote island, the US air force said.
"Two pilots from the 509th Bomb Wing were on board and ejected. They have been evaluated by medical authorities and are in good condition," it said.
"Emergency responders are on scene. A board of officers will investigate the accident," said the headquarters of the US air force in the Pacific.
It was the second US air force crash this week after two F-15C jets collided during training over the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday, killing a fighter pilot.
On March 27, 1999, a US F-117 stealth fighter went down outside Belgrade, then Yugoslavia.
Runway closed
In Guam, crowds gathered at the crash site after the bomber, one of just 21 in the air force inventory, went down early morning.
A thick plume of smoke rose over the airbase and officials closed one of its two runways, diverting planes to Guam International Airport, the Pacific Daily News website said.
"Everybody was on their cellphones and the first thing everyone wanted to know was did the pilots make it out in time," said an eye-witness quoted by the website.
Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell, here with visiting US Defence Secretary Robert Gates, confirmed the crash but did not give further details. "We are grateful for the safety of the pilots," said Mike Cruz, acting governor of the US territory.
"The Air Force and Guam have a long-standing relationship and we help each other in this community we share, especially during times like these."
A board of officers will investigate what caused the bat-like aircraft to crash. It was the first crash of a B-2 bomber, said Captain Sheila Johnston, a spokeswoman for Air Combat Command at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia. All 21 stealth bombers are based at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, but the Air Force has been rotating several of them through Guam since 2004, along with B-1 and B-52 bombers.
The bomber was visiting from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri. Operated by the US, the B-2 has never crashed since first seeing combat in the air war over Kosovo in 1999. The 52-metre-wide stealth bomber, which can carry nuclear as well as conventional weapons, has also been used in US campaigns over Iraq and Afghanistan. It emits minimal exhaust, noise and heat, making it hard to detect by radar or infra-red.
Guam, in the northwest Pacific, and neighbouring US territories including the Northern Mariana Islands are considered by Washington as strategic locations in the Asia-Pacific.
Guam, population 170,000, is home to one of the largest US military naval bases in the region and 8,000 Marines will soon be relocated there from Japan. The US and Japan are spending $15 billion on the relocation of the Marines from Japan, expected to further boost Washington's military strength in the Asia-Pacific.
Specifications: Bizarre dimensions
- Price: $1.2 billion (Dh4.7 billion)
- Crew: Normally two, pilot on left, commander or instructor on right with one additional crew member for specific mission requirement
- Maiden flight: July 17, 1989
- Wingspan: 52 metres
- Height: 5.6 metres
- Length: 23 metres
- Weight: 72,575kgs
- Maximum Take-Off Weight: 152,634kg
- Payload: 18,140kg
- Maximum Speed: High subsonic speed, 331m/sec
- Altitude: 16,667 metres
- Range: Intercontinental
- Weapons: Conventional and nuclear weapons, precision guided munitions, gravity bombs, maritime weapons
'invisible' marauder
- The bizarre, jagged-triangle shape of the B-2 long-range bomber is part of its "stealth" design, which uses various technologies to minimise its appearance to enemy radar.
- Where previously bomber crews have had to train to fly very low to try to evade enemy radar detection, the idea behind the four-engine B-2 is that its stealth allows it to operate at high altitude. This gives it a better range and more scope for finding and attacking targets.
At a cost of about $1.2 billion(Dh4.7 billion) each, only 22 B-2s have been built, with 16 assigned to combat.
- A drawback is that the aircraft's stealth coating needs repair after each mission - although the air force says the problems this causes are exaggerated and maintenance has been done without its special climate-controlled hangar.
- Three pairs took part in the first three days of attacks on Afghanistan, flying from their home at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, and refuelling in flight several times on the way.
- With a subsonic top speed, each mission lasted more than 40 hours. One, at 44 hours, is said to have been the longest combat sortie in aviation history. The two pilots take it in turns to have brief "power naps". Flights began at Whiteman, attacked Afghanistan, and carried on to the British Indian ocean island of Diego Garcia. With a fresh aircrew the planes then made the 30-hour flight home.
- The commander of the 509th Bomber Wing said the fact that the planes did not shut down their engines for more than 70 hours highlighted their reliability.
- B-2s can carry 18,140kg of nuclear or conventional bombs and, over Kosovo, were the first to use the new JDAM (Joint Direct Attack Munition) satellite-guided bomb.
- US Air Force & BBC
