The first B-1B [84-0052] crash after the aircraft became operational in 1986 was on 28 September 1987 at La Junta, near Pueblo Colorado. Two of those killed were instructors who were not in ejection seats and did not have time to bail out manually. A third crewman, the co-pilot, died because his ejection seat malfunctioned. Three surviving crew members bailed out successfully. The bomber from Dyess AFB was flying a low level training mission about 600 feet above the ground at a speed of 560 knots [about 645 mph] when the plane struck a 15-to-20-pound North America white pelican. The bird tore through a wing, ripping apart critical hydraulic, electrical and fuel lines. This started a fire which maded it impossible for the pilot to control the plane. The Air Force subsequently hardened the vulnerable area on the remaining B-1s. Individual B-1Bs were restricted from high-speed, low-altitude flight below 5,000 ft. above ground level until bird strike protection kits were installed, with all modifications completed by December 1988. The modifications are designed to withstand the impact of a 10-lb. bird at 590 kt. The B-1B was originally designed to withstand strikes by birds weighing up to six pounds.
I was the attending flight surgeon on that crash. The description is accurate except in two respects: The pilot in the jump seat was a student and it was the aircraft commander not the copilot who also perished, but not because his seat malfunctioned. The gang ejection function on the B-1B went in a specific order: #1 was the rightseat pilot, then the Defensive Systems Officer, then the Offensive systems officer, finally the leftseat pilot (AC). The aircraft impacted the ground before his ACESII seat had time to activate.
Neither of the jumpseat occupants had a prayer and after that crash, low level missions were restricted to 4 crew only.