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8 dead in B-52 crash - Air Force presser gives early details · INSIGHT TODAY

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  Speaker 1: Today, Edward's Air Force Base experienced a horrible tragedy and
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: we lost eight great Americans. This crash is deemed to
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  Speaker 1: be unsurvivable and right now our thoughts and prayers are
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  Speaker 1: with the families of those that lost their loved ones.
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  Speaker 1: We're sending teams out to notify the next of kin
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  Speaker 1: right now as we speak, and those next of kin
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  Speaker 1: notifications will take place over the coming hours and remainder
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  Speaker 1: of the day. It was a B fifty two that
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  Speaker 1: was on initial takeoff supporting the radar modernization program.
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  Speaker 2: Which is a test. It was a local test sorty.
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  Speaker 1: It took off and immediately after takeoff crashed and burst
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  Speaker 1: into flames. Our team of first responders snapped into action
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  Speaker 1: and immediately took cordoned off the area and took the
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  Speaker 1: appropriate action to start putting out the flames. While that
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  Speaker 1: was taking place, our base responded in kind to establish
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  Speaker 1: and emergency Operation Center and a Wing Operation Center to
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  Speaker 1: ensure that the command and control of all base agencies
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  Speaker 1: and the response for the recovery effort was underway. After
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  Speaker 1: reviewing the footage of the crash, it was deemed that
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  Speaker 1: this was an unrecoverable crash and unsurvivable. At that point,
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  Speaker 1: we went into the notification process, and as I said before,
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  Speaker 1: that's taking place right now. I want to reiterate that
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  Speaker 1: our thoughts and prayers go out to the family members.
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  Speaker 1: This is a tragedy and this is going to be
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  Speaker 1: the worst days of their lives. We understand that, and
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  Speaker 1: we want to keep them in our thoughts and prayers.
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  Speaker 1: At this point, we don't have any indication as to
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  Speaker 1: what the cause was of this. We won't be able
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  Speaker 1: to release that information and we don't have an ability
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  Speaker 1: to get that anytime soon. Right now, we're going to
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  Speaker 1: stand up an interim safety board to do the initial
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  Speaker 1: gathering of the facts, and that will then lead to
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  Speaker 1: a safety investigation board which.
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  Speaker 2: We'll look into those root causes.
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  Speaker 1: Once that's complete, it takes about thirty days, then it'll
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  Speaker 1: go into an accid investigation board, and then that will
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  Speaker 1: determine all of the information that we can release to
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  Speaker 1: the public and to the next Canada. That process can
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  Speaker 1: take upwards of six months, so we will be we
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  Speaker 1: have to wait patiently while that process undergoes to ensure
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  Speaker 1: that we have we respect the process of doing full
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  Speaker 1: root cause analysis.
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  Speaker 2: It's time.
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  Speaker 1: I want to introduce my command Chief Chief Josh Scarlockin
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  Speaker 1: to provide any where's if you would like to.
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  Speaker 3: Again, we wish the we just we wish absolute condole
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  Speaker 3: answers for the family members, and again thank our first
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  Speaker 3: responders who's carawing it very bravely. Again, this is a tragedy,
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  Speaker 3: is something that we never plan for, but we're always
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  Speaker 3: prepared for respond and we think those involved as we
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  Speaker 3: words of this process.
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  Speaker 2: I'll now open it up for questions. Colonel Sampoil twenty
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  Speaker 2: three of U see the people on board? Where they
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  Speaker 2: all military personnel?
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  Speaker 3: Where there any civilians?
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  Speaker 2: It was Sam, was it? Yeah? Thank you for that question.
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  Speaker 2: This was a mixed crew.
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  Speaker 1: This was a mixed crew of military, government, civilians and
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  Speaker 1: government contractors supporting this test mission.
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  Speaker 2: Thank you for that question, appreciate it.
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  Speaker 1: Talking about the test mission, Uh no, we don't have
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  Speaker 1: the profile or any of that. It was a local
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  Speaker 1: test mission that was an execution according to their test
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  Speaker 1: plan that will be made public later.
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  Speaker 2: That how long.
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  Speaker 1: We can't talk about any of the details of the
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  Speaker 1: specifics of the aircraft. All that's going to be analyzed
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  Speaker 1: by the Acts and Investigation Board and that information will
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  Speaker 1: come out.
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  Speaker 2: After that you're talking a lot about.
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  Speaker 1: The crash was totally contained within the United within Edwards
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  Speaker 1: Air Force Base on the runway.
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  Speaker 3: Account the experiences billions?
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  Speaker 2: Are these experience podcast to free these man? I appreciate
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  Speaker 2: that question.
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  Speaker 1: Right now, we're doing next to kin notifications and we
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  Speaker 1: don't wanna release any information about who these individuals are
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  Speaker 1: until their families know about it. We'll have that information
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  Speaker 1: twenty four hours after Mexicican notification takes place.
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  Speaker 2: Of service profession.
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  Speaker 4: Who was the last time that vertierspace had a fiftie?
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  Speaker 1: I can't speak to the specifics of when that happens,
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  Speaker 1: just I can't. I I don't have that information available
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  Speaker 1: to me. It hasn't been within the last three years
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  Speaker 1: since I've been here.
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  Speaker 4: And I'll move to you.
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  Speaker 1: Did the customer until they happen? Both you absolutely, Our
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  Speaker 1: test missions take place every day, multiple times a day,
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  Speaker 1: and this.
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  Speaker 3: Is the first time I mention tragic.
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  Speaker 2: That's correct.
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  Speaker 1: You need to tell us sport to see the round
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  Speaker 1: it's like right now is to say the coovery mission, yes, ma'am.
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  Speaker 1: So the initial response is to ensure that we can
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  Speaker 1: get the fire out and then we coordinate off and
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  Speaker 1: make it a safe area for everybody, all of our
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  Speaker 1: first responders and anybody that might be coming up to
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  Speaker 1: the crash site.
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  Speaker 2: So that has already undergone. Now it is a recovery operation.
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  Speaker 2: They were detail.
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  Speaker 1: Report. Again, We're not going to release any specifics as
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  Speaker 1: to the makeup of the crew. I can just say
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  Speaker 1: at this time that it was a mixed crew of
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  Speaker 1: government civilians, government contractors, and uniform military. We'll have those
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  Speaker 1: details after we have next next excuse me, next of
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  Speaker 1: ken notification?
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  Speaker 2: No, how long kept the like a crash, how long
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  Speaker 2: it'd been experience?
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  Speaker 1: Again, those details will come out over the next several
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  Speaker 1: weeks after we have the investigation to release those public records.
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  Speaker 2: Can you describe the crash scene and is one of it?
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  Speaker 1: But how you're able to say that was going to
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  Speaker 1: the survivor it was tragic and unsurvivable is where I'll
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  Speaker 1: leave it. Yes, we did reopen the ability for individuals
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  Speaker 1: to come on base.
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  Speaker 4: Again, can talk at all about how high there?
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  Speaker 2: That's correct? Do you black box hast again? Again, that's
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  Speaker 2: the recovery operation that's undergoing.
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  Speaker 1: Uh. They'll do everything they can to find that information
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  Speaker 1: and then that will be used by the safety investigation
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  Speaker 1: board to determine root cause.
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  Speaker 4: Can you say that you have this test?
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  Speaker 3: Might every day, given this grativision, any additional test.
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  Speaker 2: You want to be around in tomorrow.
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  Speaker 1: We're terminating operations while we undergo this, mainly because of
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  Speaker 1: the the runway itself, and we'll eventually get back to
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  Speaker 1: full operations and execute. We'll obviously internalize any of the
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  Speaker 1: whatever information we can from this, but at this point, yes,
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  Speaker 1: we are standing down operations tomorrow.
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  Speaker 2: Good question. The investigation is just your er. That's a
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  Speaker 2: great question. I'm sorry, what was your name? More time?
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  Speaker 2: Thank you, Raymond.
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  Speaker 1: Yes, this is an air Force run operation, so we
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  Speaker 1: have all the processes that I've just laid out. Is
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  Speaker 1: going to be entirely air force and.
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  Speaker 4: Talk a lot about the last time that particular aircraft
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  Speaker 4: may have done instituted or a bat.
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  Speaker 2: I don't have those details at this time.
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  Speaker 4: Tried that, boss. Okay, ladies and gentlemen, again, thank you
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  Speaker 4: for coming out here today, and we appreciate the sympathy
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  Speaker 4: that you're all expressing and helping us express to UH,
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  Speaker 4: to our internal and external communities, to your right UH.
• 8:13
  Speaker 4: As a group of public affairs people, they honestly will
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  Speaker 4: not be able to provide much more of anything than
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  Speaker 4: Colonel Hayes and Chief Scarlatt and have today, but if
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  Speaker 4: you would like to follow up with them, they're available
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  Speaker 4: to thank you very much.
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  Speaker 3: One more question before you go answer, say, did any
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  Speaker 3: of you know any of the individuals person who hard?
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  Speaker 2: I don't want to speak to anything until we have
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  Speaker 2: the next kid notification. I'm sorry, thank you.
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  Speaker 1: We're we're grounding all operations at Edward's Air Force Base,
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  Speaker 1: not any larger than that.