Stealth bomber crashes; pilots safe - CNN.com

HAGATNA, Guam (AP) -- A B-2 stealth bomber plunged to the ground shortly after taking off from an air base in Guam on Saturday, the first time one crashed, but both pilots ejected safely, Air Force officials said.

A B-2 stealth bomber taxis at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, in a 2005 photo.

The aircraft was taking off with three others on their last flight out of Guam after a four-month deployment, part of a continuous U.S. bomber presence in the western Pacific. After the crash, the other three bombers were being kept on Guam, said Maj. Eric Hilliard at Hickham Air Force Base in Hawaii.

At least one B-2 bomber had taken off safely from Andersen Air Force Base but was brought back when another aircraft plunged to the ground.

There were no injuries on the ground or damage to buildings, and no munitions were on board. Each B-2 bomber costs about $1.2 billion to build.

[From Stealth bomber crashes; pilots safe - CNN.com]

Are these bombers insured? One would think that a capital expenditure of $1.2 billion would have some kind of financial protection against hazardous duty. At least the crew was unharmed, over the length of their service the pilot and crew will probably cost a nice fraction of that $1.2 billion just in training. Let's see if they will actually blame the crash on a mechanical/electrical failure of the aircraft or if they will instead use the crew as scapegoats.



UPDATE: The whole B2 bomber fleet is now grounded until they can find if it was either pilot error or a problem with the aircraft.



Photo by Beige Alert used under a Creative Commons license.