2026年6月17日 / 美国东部时间下午1:36 / 哥伦比亚广播公司新闻
爱德华兹空军基地已公布周一发生的B-52“同温层堡垒”轰炸机坠毁事故中8名遇难者的姓名。死者包括军事人员、波音公司员工和政府文职人员。
遇难者名单如下：武器系统军官、40岁的中校加布里埃尔·埃斯特雷拉，以及34岁的少校亚历山大·戴维斯。埃斯特雷拉隶属于爱德华兹空军基地作战测试与评估中心。第419测试中队的飞行员、40岁的少校罗伯特·迪和35岁的少校布拉德·霍维同样在遇难者之列。
其他遇难者包括：第419飞行测试中队的32岁飞行测试工程师杰里米·史密斯；承包商兼飞行测试工程师、41岁的克里斯托弗·里沙尔；退休中校、波音公司飞行员、50岁的迈尔斯·米德尔顿；以及波音公司武器军官、空军预备役人员、隶属于德克萨斯州沃斯堡海军航空站联合预备基地的53岁上校格雷戈里·沃森。
“怀着深切的悲痛与沉重的心情，我今天可以公布我们在周一B-52坠毁事故中失去的8位杰出美国人的姓名，”第412测试联队指挥官托马斯·陶尔上校在公布遇难者身份的新闻稿中说道。“他们是敬业的专业人士、挚爱的家人，也是无可替代的队友。……这些空军官兵不仅是同事，更是朋友、导师、队友，是我们爱德华兹和空军大家庭中备受珍视的成员。”
爱德华兹空军基地公布的B-52坠毁事故中遇难的美军人员。爱德华兹空军基地
该机组人员隶属于联合测试部队（CTF），该基地将其描述为一种独特的编制模式：现役空军人员与军事承包商和政府文职人员合作完成特定项目。
按照标准流程，美军会在通知遇难者近亲后的24小时内公开遇难者身份。
据哥伦比亚广播公司新闻此前报道，该机组于当地时间上午11点20分左右起飞，执行空军雷达现代化项目的测试任务。飞机在起飞后不久坠毁在跑道上并起火燃烧。
事故发生后不久拍摄的航拍画面显示了大片烧焦痕迹和巨大的烟柱，数英里外都能看到。爱德华兹空军基地第412测试联队副指挥官詹姆斯·海斯上校将此次坠机描述为“无人生还”，尽管急救人员立即展开了救援行动。
该基地此前表示，机场至少将关闭至周四。飞行测试作业预计将于下周初恢复。
雷达现代化项目旨在升级B-52轰炸机，使其能够服役至2050年代。米切尔航空研究所执行主任道格·伯基表示，这些飞机拥有“惊人的”有效载荷能力和航程，能够携带核武器。部分B-52轰炸机近期在伊朗战争期间被部署。
爱德华兹空军基地B-52坠毁事故后浓烟滚滚的画面。加州大学圣迭戈分校/加州消防警报加州监控摄像头
但伯基指出，B-52轰炸机的机龄带来了风险。它们是空军机队中最老旧的飞机之一，目前仍在服役的机型均建造于20世纪60年代初。美国军方正投入近500亿美元对这些飞机进行升级，希望使其能够服役至2050年代。
“当你操作这类老旧飞机，并且要求机组人员执行高性能任务场景时，我们其实是在让大家承担巨大的风险，”伯基周二对哥伦比亚广播公司新闻表示。“显然，有8人为此付出了生命的代价。”
该基地表示，美国空军事故调查委员会将对这起事件展开调查。该委员会的调查流程可能需要长达六个月的时间才能得出坠机原因的初步结论。
基地表示，为失去亲人的家属和其他机组人员提供支持仍是当前的首要任务。据空军介绍，该测试联队已设立紧急家庭援助中心，为爱德华兹空军基地的所有人员提供支持服务，包括心理健康服务、儿童保育援助、法律咨询和牧师关怀。
负责监管轰炸机项目的美国空军全球打击司令部周三在X平台上发帖，鼓励该司令部成员相互关照。
“请花点时间联系你的战友。悲伤对每个人的影响都不同，在需要时寻求帮助绝对是强大的表现，”空军全球打击司令部司令和首席军士长在帖文中写道。
美国空军的大部分航空测试任务都在爱德华兹基地进行。该基地位于洛杉矶以北约100英里处。
Victims ID’d in B-52 bomber crash that killed 8 at Edwards Air Force Base
June 17, 2026 / 1:36 PM EDT / CBS News
Edwards Air Force Base has released the names of the eight people killed in a B-52 Stratofortress bomber crash on Monday. The deceased include military personnel, Boeing employees and government civilians.
The deceased include weapons system officers Lt. Col. Gabriel Estrella, 40, and Maj. Alexander Davis, 34. Estrella was part of the Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center at Edwards. 419th Test Squadron pilots Maj. Robert Dee, 40, and Maj. Brad Hovey, 35, were also among the dead.
The others killed were Jeremy Smith, 32, a flight test engineer from the 419th Flight Test Squadron; Christopher Rischar, 41, a contractor and flight test engineer; retired Lt. Col. Miles Middleton, 50, a Boeing pilot; and Col.Gregory Watson, 53, a weapons officer for Boeing and Air Force reservist assigned to the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base in Fort Worth, Texas.
“It is with profound sorrow and a heavy heart that I can now share the names of the eight extraordinary Americans we lost during Monday’s B-52 crash,” Col. Thomas Tauer, 412th Test Wing commander, said in a news release identifying the deceased. “They were dedicated professionals, beloved family members and irreplaceable teammates. … These Airmen were more than coworkers. They were friends, mentors, teammates and valued members of our Edwards and Air Force family.”
The service members killed in the B-52 crash at Edwards Air Force Base. Edwards Air Force Base
The group was acting as a Combined Test Force, or CTF, which the airfield described as a unique construct where active-duty airmen work with military contractors and governments civilians to complete specific projects.
As standard practice, the military makes public identifications 24 hours after next of kin have been notified.
The crew was embarking on a test mission for the Air Force’s Radar Modernization Program when the plane took off around 11:20 a.m. local time, CBS News previously reported. The plane crashed on the runway shortly after taking off and burst into flames.
Aerial footage taken shortly after the crash showed a large burn mark and a huge plume of smoke, which could be seen for miles. Col. James Hayes, the deputy commander for the 412th Test Wing at Edwards Air Force Base, described the crash as “unsurvivable,” despite immediate efforts from first responders.
The airfield will remain closed until at least Thursday, the base previously said. Flight test operations are expected to resume early next week.
The Radar Modernization Program is meant to upgrade B-52 bombers so the planes can continue flying into the 2050s. The aircraft have “tremendous” payload capacity and range, according to Doug Birkey, the executive director of the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies. The planes are capable of carrying nuclear weapons. Some B-52s were recently deployed during the Iran war.
Footage shows billowing smoke after a B-52 crash at Edwards Air Force Base. UC San Diego/CalFire Alert California cam
But the age of the B-52s poses a risk, Birkey said. They are among the oldest planes in the Air Force’s fleet, with those still in service today having been built in the early 1960s. The U.S. military is paying nearly $50 billion to upgrade those planes, with the hopes of keeping them flying until the 2050s.
“When you are dealing with aircraft of this age and when you are pressing for the high-performance type scenarios, we’re asking folks to take a lot of risk,” Birkey told CBS News on Tuesday. “And clearly, eight people paid with their lives.”
The U.S. Air Force’s Accident Investigation Board will examine the incident, the base said. The board’s investigation process can take up to six months to form initial conclusions on the cause of the crash.
Supporting families who lost loved ones and other team members remains the base’s primary objective, it said. The test wing has stood up an Emergency Family Assistance Center to provide support, like mental health services, childcare assistance, legal counsel, and chaplain support for anyone at Edwards Air Force Base, according to the Air Force.
Air Force Global Strike Command, which oversees the bomber program, encouraged members of the command to look after each other in an X post on Wednesday.
“Please take the time to check in on your wingmen. Grief affects us all differently, and there is absolute strength in asking for help when you need it,” the post from the commander and command chief of AFGSC said.
The U.S. Air Force does much of its aerospace testing at Edwards. The facility is located about 100 miles north of Los Angeles.
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