Edwards Air Force Base memorial service honors 8 victims killed in B-52 crash

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (CNS) -- 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.

The evening ceremony was attended by family members, friends, and fellow service members who paid tribute to the victims.

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

Those who died were:

-- Col. Gregory Watson, 53, weapon systems officer, Boeing, Shreveport, Louisiana;

-- Lt. Col. Gabriel Estrella, 40, weapon systems officer, Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center, Detachment 5, Edwards AFB;

-- Retired Lt. Col. Miles Middleton, 50, pilot, Boeing, Tehachapi, California;

-- Maj. Alexander Davis, 34, weapon systems officer, 419th Flight Test Squadron, Lancaster;

8 victims killed in B-52 bomber crash are identified by Edwards Air Force Base

The victims were a mixed crew of uniform military, government civilians and government contractors, including two Boeing employees.

-- Maj. Robert Dee, 40, pilot, 419th Flight Test Squadron, Edwards AFB;

-- Maj. Brad Hovey, 35, pilot, 419th Flight Test Squadron, Edwards AFB;

-- Jeromy Smith, 32, flight test engineer, 419th Flight Test Squadron, Rosamond; and

-- Christopher Rischar, 41, flight test engineer, Lancaster.

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.

"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.

Base officials established an emergency operations center and wing operations center to coordinate the response and recovery effort, according to Hayes.

"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."

An investigation into the cause of the crash was ongoing.

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.

The last crash at the base was in 1992, when two crew members were killed.