Military officials said that the crash happened outside Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota.
The United States long-range B-1B Lancer bomber has crashed during a training mission
Military officials said that the crash happened outside Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota.
The Ellsworth air base confirmed the incident in a statement on Thursday night, saying the bomber went down at around 6 pm local time while attempting to land at the facility.
“At the time of the accident, it was on a training mission. There were four aircrew on board. All four ejected safely,” the statement said, adding that an investigation had been launched.
The statement read: "An Air Force B-1B Lancer assigned to Ellsworth Air Force Base crashed at approximately 5:50 p.m. today while attempting to land on the installation. At the time of the accident, it was on a training mission. There were four aircrew on board. All four ejected safely.
"A board of officers will investigate the accident.
"Additional details will be provided as they become available. For questions regarding this incident, contact the 28th Bomb Wing Public Affairs Office at (605) 385-5056, or by e-mail at [email protected].
Unconfirmed images making the rounds on social media show a fire outside the military base, though officials offered few details about the aftermath of the crash.
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One of three main strategic bombers in the US arsenal, the B-1B Lancer was once among Washington’s top nuclear-capable warplanes, able to carry the largest load of munitions and reach the fastest speeds. However, the B-1B has since been stripped of its nuclear status, as was agreed under the Cold War-era START Treaty with the Soviet Union, with the planes finally undergoing physical conversions in 2011.
“The exterior attachment points, or the hard points, on the aircraft, were modified to prevent nuclear pylons from ever being attached to the jet,” Master Sgt. Brian Hudson, a B-1 avionics manager at Air Force Global Strike Command, explained in an interview with Military.com.
Despite losing its nuclear mission, however, the Lancer remains a primary heavy bomber alongside the B-52 Stratofortress and B-2 Spirit, having entered service in 1986. The aircraft are stationed at Ellsworth AFB and Dyess Air Force Base in Texas, and several have been deployed for ‘deterrence’ missions in Guam in recent years.
In late 2023, two Lancers were intercepted while approaching Russian airspace over the Baltic Sea by a Russian Sukhoi Su-27 fighter jet, according to Moscow’s defence ministry. After they were spotted, the two US planes changed course and headed away from the border without incident.