The U.S. Air Force on Wednesday released the names of eight airmen and civilian personnel killed in Monday’s crash of a B-52 Stratofortress shortly after takeoff from Edwards Air Force Base, California.
The aircraft went down at approximately 11:20 a.m. PDT on June 15 near the major flight-test installation in California’s Mojave Desert. Air Force officials previously stated that initial indications suggested the crash was not survivable.
The names were released after all next of kin were notified, in accordance with Department of Defense policy.
The victims were:
- Col. Gregory Watson, 53, weapon systems officer, Boeing and Air Force Reserve officer assigned to 10th Air Force, Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas; hometown: Shreveport, Louisiana.
- Lt. Col. Gabriel Estrella, 40, weapon systems officer, Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center, Detachment 5, Edwards Air Force Base, California.
- Retired Lt. Col. Miles Middleton, 50, pilot, Boeing; hometown: Tehachapi, California.
- Maj. Alexander Davis, 34, weapon systems officer, 419th Flight Test Squadron; hometown: Lancaster, California.
- Maj. Robert Dee, 40, pilot, 419th Flight Test Squadron, Edwards Air Force Base, California.
- Maj. Brad Hovey, 35, pilot, 419th Flight Test Squadron, Edwards Air Force Base, California.
- Jeromy Smith, 32, flight test engineer, 419th Flight Test Squadron; hometown: Rosamond, California.
- Christopher Rischar, 41, flight test engineer, JT4 contractor; hometown: Lancaster, California.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation.