Pentagon IDs all eight deceased passengers in B-52 crash

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The United States military on Wednesday released the names of all eight passengers on the Air Force B-52 aircraft that crashed after takeoff this week at Edwards Air Force Base, in California.

The plane crashed on Monday morning and took place shortly after takeoff during a “routine test mission.”

The passengers have been identified as 53-year-old Col. Gregory Watson; 40-year-old Lt. Col. Gabriel Estrella; 50-year-old Retired Lt. Col. Miles Middleton; 34-year-old Maj. Alexander Davis; 40-year-old Maj. Robert Dee; 35-year-old Maj. Brad Hovey; 32-year-old Flight test engineer Jeromy Smith and 41-year-old Flight test engineer Christopher Rischar, according to NBC News.

“They were dedicated professionals, beloved family members and irreplaceable teammates,” Col. Thomas Tauer, commander of the 412th Test Wing at Edwards, said in a statement.

Middleton and Watson both worked for Boeing, which created the B-52 Stratofortress that crashed, and Smith was a civilian flight-test engineer for the Department of Defense.

No cause of the crash has been identified so far, but officials said the investigation into the incident is underway and the process could take up to six months.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.