On 23 February 2008, ''Spirit of Kansas'', a

B-2 Spirit The Northrop (later Northrop Grumman) B-2 Spirit, also known as the Stealth Bomber, is an American heavy strategic bomber, featuring low-observable stealth technology designed to penetrate dense anti-aircraft defenses. A subsonic flying ...

stealth bomber of the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

, crashed on the runway moments after takeoff from Andersen Air Force Base in

Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...

. The aircraft was destroyed, but both crew members successfully

ejected Ejection or Eject may refer to: * Ejection (sports), the act of officially removing someone from a game * Eject (''Transformers''), a fictional character from ''The Transformers'' television series * "Eject" (song), 1993 rap rock single by Sense ...

. The accident marked the first operational loss of a B‑2 bomber, and it remains the only one. With an estimated loss of

US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

1.4 billion, considering only the cost of the aircraft, it was also the most expensive aircraft crash in history.

Crash

Northrop B-2, USAF 89-0127, Northrop B-2, USAF Royal International Air Tattoo, Fairford, 19th July 1997

On 23 February 2008, a B‑2 crashed on the runway shortly after takeoff from Andersen Air Force Base in Guam.Lavitt, Michael O
"B‑2 Crashes on Takeoff From Guam."
''Aviation Week'', 23 February 2008. The crash of the ''Spirit of Kansas'', ''89-0127'', which had been operated by the 393rd Bomb Squadron, 509th Bomb Wing,

Whiteman Air Force Base Whiteman Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located just south of Knob Noster, Missouri, United States. The base is the current home of the B-2 Spirit bomber. It is named for 2nd Lt George Whiteman, who was killed during the attack ...

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

, and which had logged 5,100 flight hours, was the first ever crash of a B‑2. The two-officer crew (Major Ryan Link and Captain Justin Grieve) attempted to control the bomber but were unable to do so, and as one of its wingtips made contact with the ground, they ejected and survived the crash. The aircraft was destroyed, a

total loss In insurance claims, a total loss or write-off is a situation where the lost value, repair cost or salvage cost of a damaged property exceeds its insured value, and simply replacing the old property with a new equivalent is more cost-effecti ...

estimated at US$1.4 billion.Air Combat Command, Accident Investigation Board, "Summary of Facts", "B-2A, S/N 89-0127, 20080223 KSZL501A"; link
AFD-080605-054
, hosted by GlenPew.com This is equivalent to $ in . According to the ''Air Force Times'', a private-industry magazine, no munitions were on board."No munitions on board B‑2 that crashed",

Air Force Times ''Air Force Times'' is a newspaper published 26 times per year to provide active, reserve and retired United States Air Force and Air National Guard personnel and their families with news, information, analysis, community and lifestyle features, e ...

, 23 February 2008. The Air Combat Command accident board report states that "classified material" had been loaded onto the bomber the morning the aircraft was returning to Whiteman Air Force Base "after a four-month deployment in support of Pacific Air Forces' continuous bomber presence." At Guam Naval Hospital, one pilot was evaluated and released, and the second was hospitalized. A B‑2 already in the air was called back to Andersen following the crash, where it and the other B‑2s were grounded until an initial investigation into the crash was complete. Six Boeing B‑52s of the

96th Bomb Squadron The 96th Bomb Squadron is a unit of the United States Air Force 2d Operations Group located at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The 96th is equipped with the Boeing B-52H Stratofortress. Formed in August 1917, the 96 BS saw combat on the Wor ...

, 2nd Bomb Wing at

Barksdale Air Force Base Barksdale Air Force Base (Barksdale AFB) is a United States Air Force (USAF) base in northwest Louisiana, United States, in Bossier Parish. It is contiguous to Bossier City, Louisiana, along the base's western and northwestern edge. Barksdale AFB ...

, Louisiana, were deployed to replace the B‑2s. The commander of the 509th Bomb Wing, Brig. Gen.

Garrett Harencak Major General Garrett Harencak is the Commander of the U.S. Air Force Recruiting Service. Previously, he served as the Assistant Chief of Staff for Strategic Deterrence and Nuclear Integration, Headquarters U. S. Air Force. Prior this positio ...

, followed up on the incident by temporarily suspending flying operations for all 20 remaining B‑2s to review procedures. Harencak termed the suspension a "safety pause" and stated that the B‑2s would resume flying if called upon for immediate operations."B-2 pause", Air Force Times, February 2008. The B‑2 fleet returned to flight status on 15 April 2008.Linch, Stephen
"B-2s return to flight after safety pause"
USAF, 21 April 2008.

Investigation

The findings of the investigation stated that the B‑2 crashed after "heavy, lashing rains" caused moisture to enter skin-flush air-data sensors. The data from the sensors are used to calculate numerous factors including airspeed and altitude. Because three pressure transducers failed to function—attributable to condensation inside devices, not a maintenance error—the flight-control computers calculated inaccurate aircraft

angle of attack In fluid dynamics, angle of attack (AOA, α, or \alpha) is the angle between a reference line on a body (often the chord line of an airfoil) and the vector representing the relative motion between the body and the fluid through which it is m ...

and airspeed. Incorrect airspeed data on cockpit displays led to the aircraft

rotating Rotation, or spin, is the circular movement of an object around a '' central axis''. A two-dimensional rotating object has only one possible central axis and can rotate in either a clockwise or counterclockwise direction. A three-dimensional ...

at slower than indicated. After the wheels lifted from the runway, which caused the flight control system to switch to different control laws, the erroneously sensed negative angle of attack caused the computers to inject a sudden, , uncommanded 30-degree pitch-up maneuver. The combination of slow lift-off speed and the extreme angle of attack, with attendant drag, resulted in an unrecoverable stall, yaw, and descent. Both crew members successfully ejected from the aircraft soon after the left wing tip started to gouge the ground alongside the runway. The aircraft hit the ground, tumbled, and burned after its fuel ignited."Moisture confused sensors in B‑2 crash"
AirForceTimes, 6 June 2008.

In popular culture

The crash of "Spirit of Kansas" was featured in the 22nd season of the show ''

Mayday Mayday is an emergency procedure word used internationally as a distress signal in voice-procedure radio communications. It is used to signal a life-threatening emergency primarily by aviators and mariners, but in some countries local organiza ...

'', titled "Stealth Bomber Down".

References

External links

Video of the crash with detailed, technical narration.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Andersen Air Force Base B-2 accident 21st-century military history of the United States Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States in 2008 Aviation accidents and incidents in Guam Accidents and incidents involving United States Air Force aircraft 2008 in Guam History of Guam February 2008 events in the United States Northrop Grumman aircraft