More on B-52 crash

It apparently took place at under 1,000 feet while the bomber was practicing for a flyover of a parade on Guam. A bystander who saw the plane flying said it seemed to be quieter than normal and was listing to the right side, which would indicate an engine-out situation. However, short of a catastrophic failure of multiple engines on one side of the plane, that would not bring down a B-52. Each pod has one alternator (four alternators total) and there are multiple hydraulic pumps also, so this is not a case where a failure of one or more engines would cause the aircraft to lose power and hydraulic control.

There apparently were nine B-52's deployed to Guam. This bomber may have been one of six B-52's deployed early to Guam when the B-2's were hastily withdrawn after the B-2 crash there in February. In a message below, the spectre of deferred maintenance was brought up. If the aircraft were deployed early prior to being fully serviced at the BAFB depot, that may be an issue, but it is hard for me to think of any deferred maintenance that can take out a B-52 without giving its crew a chance to eject. If the pilot were stunting, like in the 1994 crash, that would be one thing. But you would not have six people on board if this had been a pilot with a reputation as a "hot dog" who would stunt, you would have had four people on board like in the Czar 52 incident (that is the minimum needed to fly the plane).

We will find out more. Or not. But I do think we can rule out some of the more ridiculous scenarios that I've seen floating around the 'Net. For example, it is unlikely that a Chinese sub fired off a SAM and took out this B-52. A Chinese sub would have been more likely to wave its red flag proudly to show off to the B-52 "hey, look at me! I popped up right next to your most important base in the west Pacific and nobody saw me get here!". Similarly, I seriously doubt that a UFO collided with this bomber and brought it down. Sorry, little green men taking it out are about as likely as a flock of flying penguins taking it out :-). So we shall find out more later, I suppose...

-- Badtux the Flightless Penguin