July 24th 08, 04:44 AM
posted to rec.aviation.military,sci.military.naval,rec.aviation.military.naval
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AF says no survivors of B-52 crash
On Jul 23, 8:49*pm, Tiger wrote:
Yahoo! News
Air Force says no survivors of B-52 crash off Guam
By JAYMES SONG, Associated Press Writer 43 minutes ago
All six crew members aboard a B-52 bomber that crashed off Guam were
killed, the Air Force said Wednesday as the search effort shifted focus
from rescue to recovery of the crew and pieces of the wreckage.
Two bodies have been found; the Air Force, without elaborating, said in
a news release that forensic specialists were trying to identify
additional remains recovered.
"Losing this bomber crew has been a tragedy felt by everyone here and
across the Air Force," said Brig. Gen. Doug Owens, commander of the 36th
Wing.
The six crew members were identified as Maj. Christopher M. Cooper, 33,
aircraft commander; Maj. Brent D. Williams, 37, navigator; Capt. Michael
K. Dodson, 31, co-pilot; 1st Lt. Joshua D. Shepherd, 25, navigator; 1st
Lt. Robert D. Gerren, 32, electronic warfare officer; and Col. George
Martin, 51, flight surgeon.
Martin was also the deputy commander of 36th Medical Group at Andersen
Air Force Base.
"Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with the families of these
airmen," said Col. Robert Wheeler, 2d Bomb Wing commander. "We
appreciate the military and civilian organizations who are continuing
recovery efforts to bring our airmen home."
A panel of Air Force officers is investigating the crash.
The unarmed bomber crashed Monday during a swing around the island as
part of Guam Liberation Day celebrations, marking the day when the U.S.
military arrived to retake control of the island from Japan during World
War II. The B-52 had been scheduled to conduct a flyover in a parade.
The Coast Guard, Navy, Air Force, National Guard and local agencies
scoured more than 7,000 square miles of the Pacific in three days before
suspending the search for survivors.
"It's extremely difficult to suspend this search," said Capt. Thomas
Sparks, commanding officer of the Coast Guard's Sector Guam. "Our hearts
go out to the families of the victims and the entire Coast Guard grieves
for their loss."
The crew was based at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana. Flags were
being flown at half-staff at the Louisiana state Capitol to honor them.
They were deployed to Guam with the 20th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron as
part of the U.S. military's continuous bomber presence mission in the
Pacific.
The B-52 was carrying nearly 19,000 gallons of jet fuel when it crashed
but the National Oceanic Atmospheric Association determined there was no
threat to the environment because all or most of the fuel had burned,
the Coast Guard said.
B-52s have been the backbone of the U.S. military's manned strategic
bomber force for more than four decades, used for missions from attacks
to ocean surveillance. They are capable of dropping or launching the
widest array of weapons in the U.S. inventory, including cluster bombs
and precision guided missiles.
B-52s were first placed into service in 1955, and 93 remain in the Air
Force's fleet.
The Air Force has been rotating B-1, B-2 and B-52 bombers through Guam
since 2004 to boost the U.S. security presence in the Asia-Pacific
region while other U.S. forces in the area have been sent to the Middle
East.
Monday's crash is the third for the military this year on Guam, a U.S.
territory 3,700 miles southwest of Hawaii.
A Navy EA-6B Prowler electronic warfare aircraft crashed into the ocean
Feb. 12. Four crew members ejected from the aircraft and were rescued by
helicopter.
Eleven days later, an Air Force B-2 crashed at Andersen shortly after
takeoff in the first-ever crash of a stealth bomber. Both pilots ejected
safely. The military estimated the cost of the loss of the aircraft at
$1.4 billion.
The Air Force's last crash involving a B-52 was also to perform for
spectators.
On June 24, 1994, a bomber was practicing touch-and-go landings before
an air show at Fairchild Air Force Base in Washington state when it
plunged to the ground and exploded, killing all four on board, according
to the Air Combat Command in Langley Air Force Base, Va.
(This version CORRECTS age of Shepherd.)
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