A B-1B strategic bomber crashed in the United States

5 January, 2024 B-1B Lancer. Photo credits: Ellsworth Air Force Base press office A B-1B Lancer strategic bomber of the US Air Force crashed while landing at Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota.

The accident was reported by the press service of the US air base. At the time of the accident, it was on a training mission. The B-1B crash occurred on Thursday evening, January 4, at 5:50 p.m. local time.

There were four aircrew on board. All four ejected safely.

B-1B Lancer bomber. October 2021. Photo from open sources

At the time of the training flight, the weather was bad and it was freezing.

An investigation is currently underway into the causes of the B-1B Lancer crash. Ellsworth Air Force Base is temporarily closed for flights. The Rockwell B-1 Lancer is a strategic bomber with variable-sweep wings of the US Air Force, which has been in service since 1986.

The B-1B can carry weapons in three internal bays. The bomber is equipped with four turbofan engines with afterburner F101-GE-102 manufactured by General Electric. The engines are located in the lower part of the fuselage.

B-1B Lancer strategic bomber.

Photo credits: US Air Force

A total of 100 B-1B Lancer bombers were built during the period of serial production from 1984 to 1988. In the early 1990s, these bombers were converted from nuclear to conventional weapons. As previously reported, in 2021, the US Air Force decommissioned 17 B-1B Lancer strategic bombers.

The last bomber from this group arrived at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona on September 23, 2021. The aircraft had been decommissioned and delivered to the storage base in early 2021.

B-1B Lancer crews at Lulea-Kallax Airport on June 19, 2023. Photo credits: NATO Air Command

In June 2023, two US Air Force B-1B Lancer bombers arrived at Sweden's Lulea-Kallax airport for an exercise.

This was the first time that US bombers landed in Sweden.