Military aircraft are already expensive as is, but the B2 stealth bomber is in a class all its own. Yesterday, a B2 stealth bomber worth $2 billion suffered a malfunction mid-flight and had to crash land at a Missouri airbase.
Officials state the pilots landed after an in-flight malfunction during a routine training exercise. Luckily, no one was injured. Also, no fires resulted from the crash landing. Happening around 12:30 a.m., the event resulted in a temporary flight restriction six miles in all directions and 8,000 feet from the ground up, set by the Federal Aviation Administration. The restriction lifts on September 17 at 8 p.m.
Air Force Global Strike Command issued a statement to The Drive on the incident. “A U.S. Air Force B-2 Spirit experienced and [sic] in-flight malfunction during a routine training mission and was damaged on the runway at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, after an emergency landing. The incident is under investigation and more information will be provided as it becomes available.”
The B2 stealth bomber is one of the deadliest weapons the United States military possesses. Only 21 B2 bombers have ever been made. 20 currently remain after one crashed in Guam in 2008. It is unknown as of now how much damage the B2 bomber sustained. Notably, builders manufacture the B2 with materials that could become highly toxic if exposed to an accident. This is likely another reason the FAA restricted such a large area around the accident.
Designed during the Cold War as the world’s first-ever “low-observable” or “stealth strategic bomber,” the B2 can deliver conventional and nuclear ammunition. However, with this one now out of commission, the US now has 19 useable models.
96-Year-Old WWII Veteran Honored with ‘Dream Flight’ and Emotionally Details Trip in 1940s Biplane
In more positive news related to the military and aviation, a 96-year-old WWII vet recently went on his “dream flight” in a 1940s biplane. During WWII, Cy Massar was an aviation machinist mate in the Navy. Last week, a charity honored him with a flight in the classic aircraft.
Dream Flights is a charity based in Nevada that connects with veterans around the country. The organization helped make Massar’s flight possible. Massar took to the air in a Boeing Stearman biplane, something he was ecstatic about. “I’ve flown in a lot of commercial and military airplanes,” Massar told volunteers with Dream Flights. “I felt more alive and like I was closer to God than ever in my life today in this Stearman. I could feel it.”
What made the flight even better for him was the pilot “put the win” of the plane “right over” his house “and made a turn around it.” Spending his career as an aircraft mechanic, Massar considers it the best thing that’s ever happened to him. As such, this flight was very special.
“Thank you, thank you,” Massar told Dream Flights. “And God bless you for what you are doing. I really appreciate it.”
