[Red Badger]

Yes, the colonel said it was on a test flight for some new radar system upgrades.

My guess is there was a catastrophic failure of the flight control systems. Maybe some wires got nicked or cut or not fully connected cables somewhere inside the aircraft during the modifications..........

[Mogger]

When I was on Guam a B-52 on final to land went into the pacific ocean when the wings came off.

I'm sure they have all been inspected and upgraded, but there are many things that can go wrong in a complex machine of any kind.

In the case of an airplane there is little room for error.