Free Republic

Lauren Smith, the wife of Jeromy Smith, a flight test engineer for the U.S. Air Force who died in the crash, told KTLA that the plane was experiencing issues before Monday’s flight. “My husband told me on Friday that they were supposed to fly on Friday and that something was wrong with the plane,” Smith said. “I don’t know what was wrong, but the flight kept getting pushed back. He was supposed to fly in the morning and then it got pushed back to noon and then it got pushed back to 2 o’clock. And then they said they’re going...

The B-52 involved in a deadly crash during a test flight at an Air Force base in California made a sharp right and then nearly completed a 180-degree turn before plunging to the ground at a rate of nearly a mile a minute, limited tracking data shows Tuesday. The B-52 was airborne for 3 minutes and 15 seconds before it crashed, according to AirNav Systems. The flight tracking that was available Tuesday shows the bomber turning to the northeast right after taking off and nearly completing a 180 degree turn before crashing on another runway, according to AirNav Systems. The...