Saturday, February 23, 2008

Two pilots are uninjured after a United States B-2 Spirit stealth bomber crashed at Andersen Air Force Base, a U.S. airbase on Guam. No one on the ground was injured as a result of the crash either.

According to a statement released by the U.S. Air Force, the two pilots from the 509th Bomb Wing were able to safely eject from the plane before it crashed into the ground at around 10:45 a.m. local time (00:45 GMT) and are said to be in good condition. Witnesses say a large plume of black smoke could be seen rising from the wreckage.

It is not yet known what caused the crash, but an investigation is ongoing.

The plane was making a visit to the island from Missouri’s Whiteman Air Force Base which is home to all of the U.S.’s 21 B-2 bombers. Each plane costs about 1.2 to 2 billion U.S. dollars to build. Some of the bombers along with B-1B‘s are sometimes switched from Guam to the AFB in a routine rotation.

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