{"id":1282,"date":"2026-06-30T16:05:39","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T16:05:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/orangecountymoversreport.com\/?p=1282"},"modified":"2026-06-30T16:05:39","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T16:05:39","slug":"edwards-air-force-base-memorial-service-honors-8-victims-killed-in-b-52-crash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/orangecountymoversreport.com\/?p=1282","title":{"rendered":"Edwards Air Force Base memorial service honors 8 victims killed in B-52 crash"},"content":{"rendered":"
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EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (CNS) — <\/span>A memorial service was held Monday evening at Edwards Air Force Base to honor the eight people killed in last week’s B-52 bomber crash.<\/p>\n

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The evening ceremony was attended by family members, friends, and fellow service members who paid tribute to the victims.<\/p>\n

The B-52 Stratofortress crashed shortly after takeoff on June 15 while on a routine test mission, according to the Air Force.<\/p>\n

Those who died were:<\/p>\n

— Col. Gregory Watson, 53, weapon systems officer, Boeing, Shreveport, Louisiana;<\/p>\n

— Lt. Col. Gabriel Estrella, 40, weapon systems officer, Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center, Detachment 5, Edwards AFB;<\/p>\n

— Retired Lt. Col. Miles Middleton, 50, pilot, Boeing, Tehachapi, California;<\/p>\n

— Maj. Alexander Davis, 34, weapon systems officer, 419th Flight Test Squadron, Lancaster;<\/p>\n

8 victims killed in B-52 bomber crash are identified by Edwards Air Force Base<\/strong><\/p>\n

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The victims were a mixed crew of uniform military, government civilians and government contractors, including two Boeing employees.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

— Maj. Robert Dee, 40, pilot, 419th Flight Test Squadron, Edwards AFB;<\/p>\n

— Maj. Brad Hovey, 35, pilot, 419th Flight Test Squadron, Edwards AFB;<\/p>\n

— Jeromy Smith, 32, flight test engineer, 419th Flight Test Squadron, Rosamond; and<\/p>\n

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— Christopher Rischar, 41, flight test engineer, Lancaster.<\/p>\n

Col. James Hayes, deputy commander of the 412th Test Wing at Edwards Air Force Base, said last week that the aircraft was conducting a local test sortie in support of a radar modernization program when it crashed immediately after takeoff.<\/p>\n

“Our team of first responders snapped into action, and immediately cordoned off the area and took the appropriate action to start putting out the flames,” Hayes said.<\/p>\n

Base officials established an emergency operations center and wing operations center to coordinate the response and recovery effort, according to Hayes.<\/p>\n

“After reviewing the footage of the crash, it was deemed that this was an unrecoverable crash and unsurvivable,” Hayes said. “At that point, we went into the notification process.”<\/p>\n

An investigation into the cause of the crash was ongoing.<\/p>\n

The B-52 Stratofortress has been a cornerstone of the Air Force’s bomber fleet since entering service in 1955. The aircraft is capable of carrying up to 70,000 pounds of weapons and is generally operated by a crew of five.<\/p>\n

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The last crash at the base was in 1992, when two crew members were killed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A somber memorial service was held at Edwards Air Force Base to honor the eight people killed in last week’s B-52 bomber crash.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1281,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[652],"class_list":["post-1282","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-los-angeles","tag-kern-county-los-angeles-county-san-bernardino-county-air-force-plane-crash-memorial-funeral-military"],"yoast_head":"\nEdwards Air Force Base memorial service honors 8 victims killed in B-52 crash - Orange County Movers Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/orangecountymoversreport.com\/?p=1282\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Edwards Air Force Base memorial service honors 8 victims killed in B-52 crash - 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