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

B-2 Spirit The Northrop B-2 Spirit, also known as the Stealth Bomber, is an American Heavy bomber, heavy strategic bomber, featuring low-observable stealth aircraft, stealth technology designed to penetrator (aircraft), penetrate dense anti-aircraft war ...

stealth bomber of the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

, crashed on the runway moments after takeoff from

Andersen Air Force Base Andersen Air Force Base (Andersen AFB, AAFB) is a United States Air Force base located primarily within the village of Yigo in the United States territory of Guam. The host unit at Andersen AFB is the 36th Wing (36 WG), assigned to the Pacif ...

Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...

. The aircraft was destroyed, but both crew members successfully ejected. The accident marked the first operational loss of a B‑2 bomber, and remains one of two lost B-2s since another damaged B-2 had to be retired due to repair costs after an on-board fire."USAF Will Retire, Not Repair, Damaged B-2; Fleet Shrinking to 19 Aircraft"
''Air & Space Forces Magazine''. 13 May 2024. With an estimated loss of

US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

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

Accident

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 The 509th Bomb Wing (509 BW) is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Force Global Strike Command, Eighth Air Force. It is stationed at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri. The 509 BW is the host unit at Whiteman, and operates t ...

Whiteman Air Force Base Whiteman Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located just south of Knob Noster, Missouri, Knob Noster, Missouri, United States. The base is the current home of the Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit, B-2 Spirit bomber. It is named for Geor ...

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') 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 border ...

, and had logged 5,100 flight hours, was the first crash of a B‑2. The two-officer crew (Major Ryan Link and Captain Justin Grieve) were unable to control the bomber, 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-effect ...

estimated at US$1.4 billion, equivalent to around $ in .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 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 after the crash, where it and the other B‑2s were grounded until the initial investigation into the crash was complete. Six Boeing B‑52s of the 96th Bomb Squadron,

2nd Bomb Wing The 2nd Bomb Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Force Global Strike Command and the Eighth Air Force. It is stationed at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The wing is also the host unit at Barksdale. The wing was ...

Barksdale Air Force Base Barksdale Air Force Base (Barksdale AFB) is a United States Air Force (USAF) base in Bossier Parish, Louisiana, in northwest Louisiana. Much of the base is within the city limits of Bossier City, Louisiana, along the base's western and northwest ...

, 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 positi ...

temporarily suspended 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

/ref>

Investigation

The findings of the investigation stated that the B‑2 crashed after "heavy, lashing rains" caused moisture to enter skin-flush Air data inertial reference unit, 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 Airfoil#Airfoil terminology, reference line on a body (often the chord (aircraft), chord line of an airfoil) and the vector (geometry), vector representing the relat ...

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

rotating Rotation or rotational/rotary motion is the circular movement of an object around a central line, known as an ''axis of rotation''. A plane figure can rotate in either a clockwise or counterclockwise sense around a perpendicular axis intersec ...

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 on season 22 of the Canadian documentary series ''

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 organiz ...

'', in the episode 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 in the United States Northrop Grumman aircraft