An aircrew member assigned to the 37th Aircraft Maintenance Unit directs a B-1B Lancer onto the runway at Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., on Aug. 29, 2023. (Dylan Maher/U.S. Air Force)
The B-1 Lancers stationed at Ellsworth Air Force Base have been grounded as investigators try to figure out what caused one of the bombers to crash last week, service officials said.
A B-1 Lancer crashed Jan. 4 as it was attempting to land in low-visibility conditions at the base in southwestern South Dakota. All four members of the crew ejected safely before the plane crashed.
The 28th Bomb Wing at the base said the plane was performing a training mission with another B-1 Lancer when it crashed. At the time, the air temperature was below freezing and visibility was poor due to low clouds, officials said.
“[The planes] conducted a local training sortie as a formation. The lead aircraft landed successfully and the second aircraft crashed,” said Col. Derek Oakley, commander of the 28th Bomb Wing at Ellsworth. “Three of the aircrew were treated on base for minor injuries and released, and one airman is currently being treated at a local hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.”
Oakley said no other troops or civilians on the ground were affected by the crash, which was entirely contained to the Air Force base.
The 28th Bomb Wing commander also said the B-1 bombers at Ellsworth AFB were grounded on the day of the crash, and a spokesperson for the base said “no hard dates have been set” for the Lancers to return to flight.
“We are carefully assessing checklists and safety procedures to resume flight operations when safe to do so,” Oakley said.
The base said Air Force authorities arrived at Ellsworth on Tuesday to begin their investigation, which Oakley said will take “weeks to months to complete.”
“I will not speculate on the cause of the mishap,” he said. “Losing an aircraft is difficult, but I cannot overemphasize that we have four safe aircrew.”
Two B-1B Lancers assigned to the 7th Bomb Wing at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, fly over the 134th Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, Calif., Jan. 2, 2023. (Hannah Malone/U.S. Air Force)
B-1 bombers at Dyess Air Force Base in Texas, the service’s only other installation with Lancers, are not affected by the grounding and are still able to fly.
The B-1 Lancer is a heavy bomber that’s been in service since the mid-1980s and is one of just three strategic bombers still in use by the Air Force. The plane can fly at supersonic speeds and can carry as many as four crew members. The Air Force is planning to retire its B-1 fleet by the mid-2030s. The aircraft will be replaced by the new B-21 Raider, which was unveiled last year and made its first flight in November.
Since the B-1 Lancer entered service, about a dozen of the planes have been destroyed in crashes. Eight airmen were killed in two separate B-1 crashes in 1992 and 1997 and three died in another crash in Colorado in 1987.
Ellsworth Air Force Base is about 30 miles northeast of Mount Rushmore and about 50 miles east of the South Dakota-Wyoming border. Two B-1 Lancers from the base were called on to perform a flyover at the 2023 Rose Bowl game because the B-2 Spirit, which typically handles that duty, was grounded at the time while the Air Force investigated a different incident.
