B-2 crash: Accident board to convene soon - Air Force News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Air Force Times

B-2 crash: Accident board to convene soon

A week after a B-2 stealth bomber slammed into the runway shortly after take off at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, all flying operations remained suspended while investigators continued to pick through the wreckage and try to determine what caused the first-ever B-2 crash.

One of the Spirit pilots reported a fire shortly after the jet took off Feb. 23, an unnamed senior Air Combat Command official reportedly told Aviation Week. The B-2, named the Spirit of Kansas, then “rolled uncontrollably to the right” and crashed between the ramp and the taxiway at 10:45 a.m. Guam time, the magazine reported.

Both pilots, whose names have not yet been released, ejected safely, though one is currently hospitalized at Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu, where he is being treated for spinal compression, said Tech. Sgt. Tom Czerwinski, a Pacific Air Force’s command spokesman.

Despite the injuries, both pilots will fly again, Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley told the House Armed Service’s Committee hearing.

The “Spirit of Kansas” was one of four stealth bombers deployed to Guam from the 509th Bomb Wing at Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo. The crash occurred as they prepared to return to Whiteman, where the fleet of B-2s, now totaling 20, is stationed. After the crash, the three other B-2s stayed at Andersen during the safety pause.

“It’s shocking,” said Brig. Gen. Garrett Harencak, 509th Bomb Wing Commander. “You never want to lose any of your aircraft whether it’s a B-2 or whatever you’re flying.

“It’s kind of like a kick to the groin, but [the safety pause] gives us a chance to get focused on the mission again,” he said.

Although this is the first B-2 to crash, the 20-year-old bomber has had its problems. Thus far the Air Force has spent $32.7 million to fix cracks in the aft decks found behind the aircraft’s exhaust, which have tiles much like the space shuttle to weather the high temperature gases that could spark a fire. Aft decks are replaced every 14 years.

On the two newest block 30 B-2s the aft decks were redesigned to cut down on maintenance costs, but the Spirit of Kansas was a block 10 delivered to the Air Force in 1995. It’s unclear if the Spirit of Kansas’s aft decks had been modified or replaced.

The Accident Investigation Board has 60 to 90 days to determine the cause of the accident, but 509th spokesman 1st Lt. Matt Miller, said the board will “convene soon.”

Air Force officials didn’t know at press time on Thursday how long the safety pause on operations would last. A Safety Investigation Board is working in Guam now to determine how to prevent further crashes, Miller said.

The Spirit of Kansas had logged 5,176 flying hours and flown 1,036 sorties since it was delivered to the Air Force in 1995. All told, B-2s have logged 72,000 flying hours and flown more than 14,000 sorties.

No plans have been announced to replace the $1.2 billion Spirit of Kansas. Northrop Grumman’s production line has long been shut down and the cost to produce a single aircraft would be astronomical, aviation experts said.

“You would only do that if you lost five of them,” said Michael O’Hanlon, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, an independent research and policy think tank in Washington, D.C. “And in that case maybe you should have 10 more to have a larger fleet.” The B-2 crash could add to create the sense of urgency to build the next generation bomber, which Air Force leaders have been saying they need for the past two years, said Loren Thompson, an Air Force expert with the Lexington Institute.