Flights at Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota have been stopped amid investigations and runway cleanup following the crash of a B-1B Lancer last week.
In an emailed statement, Col. Derek Oakley, the 28th Bomb Wing commander at Ellsworth, said flights of the B-1B Lancer bomber fleet are currently stopped.
“Flying operations were paused on Jan. 4, to ensure the safety of our airmen and airfield,” Oakley said in an emailed statement. “We are carefully assessing checklists and safety procedures to resume flight operations as soon as possible.”
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The B-1B Lancer has been in service with the Air Force since the mid-1980s, and about 60 of the aircraft are left in the fleet, which is divided between Dyess Air Force Base in Texas and Ellsworth near Rapid City, South Dakota.
Air Force Global Strike Command officials confirmed that flight operations at Dyess were not stopped following the crash.
The B-1B Lancer bomber crashed while trying to land at Ellsworth on Jan. 4.
The incident, which occurred around 5:50 p.m. local time, happened during a training mission with a crew of four, Ellsworth Air Force Base said in a Facebook post.
Oakley said in a video Monday that there were two B-1B Lancers involved in the training mission. The first one landed successfully, while the second one crashed.
All four…
