Families of B-52 crash victims remember loved ones; ‘I just wish I could’ve kept him longer’ 16%
By Salvador Hernandez49% Summer Lin59%
6/17/2026, 5:50:29 PM
BS Summary: This article contains 27 faulty reasoning types, including Appeal to Emotion, Status Quo Bias, and Optimism Bias, with Appeal to Authority as the most egregious example at 34.2% saturation with 359 hits. Analysis detected 2,079 faulty-reasoning hits from 1,051 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 32.1% and a BS Rank of 16% (17,822 of 21,179 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 84.10% of the article peer group.
Military officials have identified the eight crew members killed Monday when a B-52 Stratofortress crashed at Edwards Air Force Base during what officials said was a routine test mission.
The victims were identified as: Col.
Gregory Watson, 53; Lt.
Col.
Gabriel Estrella, 40; Retired Lt.
Col.
Miles Middleton, 50; Maj.
Alexander Davis, 34; Maj.
Robert Dee, 40; Maj.
Brad Hovey, 35; Jeromy Smith, 32; and Christopher Rischar, 41.
“They were dedicated professionals, beloved family members and irreplaceable teammates,” said Col.
Thomas Tauer, commander of the 412th Test Wing in a statement.
A Boeing spokesperson confirmed that Middleton and Watson were company employees.
“The loss of Miles and Greg is deeply felt across our teams, and our hearts remain with their families, loved ones and those who worked with them,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
According to Air Force officials, Watson was a weapons systems officer and Air Force reservist assigned to 10th Air Force at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth.
Middleton was a pilot and married with two children.
Estrella and Davis, according to the Air Force, were weapons systems officers.
Estrella was with the Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center and Davis was with the 419th Flight Test Squadron.
Dee, Hovey and Smith were also assigned to the 419th Flight Test Squadron.
Dee and Hovey were both pilots, while Smith was a flight test engineer.
Rischar, according to the Air Force, was a JT4 contractor and flight test engineer.
The crash occurred shortly after takeoff in what military officials said was supposed to be a test flight to update the B-52’s radar, and a wider effort to modernize the 70-year-old heavy bomber fleet.
Base officials said the airfield is expected to remain closed until Thursday, as cleanup operations continue after the fiery crash.
Flight test operations at the base are not expected to resume until next week.
Several of those killed were part of the 419th Flight Test Squadron, including Davis, Dee, Hovey and Smith.
The squadron has been responsible for testing several bombers, including the B-1B, B-2A and the B-52 Stratofortress.
“These Airmen were more than coworkers,” Tauer said in a statement.
“They were friends, mentors, teammates and valued members of our Edwards and Air Force family.”
Although the Air Force’s fleet of B-52s have been assigned to bases in North Dakota and Louisiana, some of the fleet have been recently sent to Edwards Air Force Base for testing as the Pentagon looks to update and deploy the newest version of the plane.
In May, Air Force officials announced Boeing was looking to modify the aircraft and replace its 1960s-era engines with F130 Rolls-Royce engines, and begin testing it at Edwards Air Force Base.
Testing for those engines is expected to begin later this year or in 2027.
In December, the Air Force also announced a B-52 Stratofortress that had been equipped with a new radar system had been taken from Boeing’s facility in San Antonio to Edwards Air Force Base.
The plane was set to undergo a series of tests throughout 2026, before the new system was to be rolled out to the rest of the B-52 fleet.
The plane that crashed Monday was on a test mission supporting the Radar Modernization Program, a base spokesperson said.
Some victims’ relatives have begun to share their stories of Monday’s tragedy.
Lauren Smith, the wife of Jeromy Smith, told The Times that her husband texted her on Friday saying that there was a maintenance issue with the plane and that the flight was pushed back.
“I thought Monday morning was just a routine day,” she said.
“He made a bottle for our 4-month old, told me he loved me, kissed me goodbye and walked out the door.
He really loved his country, and he loved his job and who he worked with.
I hope that wherever he is that he’s looking down on us and is just proud.”
The Smiths have a 2-year-old and a newborn baby.
Jeromy Smith had gone back to work for about a week before the crash happened.
“I just wish I could’ve kept him longer,” Lauren Smith added.
A GoFundMe page has been created to raise expenses for the Smith family.
Middleton’s wife, Pamela Helfrich, said in a statement to The Times that she’s unsure if he piloted the flight.
“I’d trust no pilot more than him,” she continued.
“Intelligent, kind, loving and giving to his children not of material things but of what mattered most — time.
I can never be what he was to our children and we were robbed of the future we dreamed and planned for.”
“Please pray for all the wives and children navigating this devastation together.
I know if he was in the seat, he did everything in his power to save that flight.”
Middleton was a U.S.
Air Force veteran who graduated from Colorado State University and held a master’s degree from the University of Tennessee Space Institute, according to his family.
He served in Afghanistan.
Middleton is survived by Helfrich, their 17-year-old daughter and 12-year-old son.
A GoFundMe page for Middleton’s family, to help with immediate expenses and for the children’s college fund, had raised $121,000 as of Wednesday afternoon.
Dee is survived by his wife, Ashlee, and three children, according to a GoFundMe page for his family.
“He dedicated his life to serving his country and to the people he loved most,” the GoFundMe page read.
The first B-52 first took to the air in 1954 but, for more than 70 years, the plane has undergone a series of transformations and modifications, shifting with technological advancements and the changing strategy of the U.S. military.
More than half a dozen versions of the heavy bomber have been used by the U.S. military, which is planning yet another update of the aging aircraft as it nears its 100th birthday.
With an ability to carry a payload of 70,000, a range of 8,000 miles and the ability to be refueled in mid-air, the craft has been heavily used during the country’s armed conflicts from the Vietnam War to the Gulf and Iraq wars.
Officials said it was unclear what caused Monday’s deadly crash and that investigation is ongoing.
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