FILE - An emergency vehicle barrier stands at Ellsworth Air Force Base in Rapid City, S.D. A B-1 Lancer bomber from the base crashed Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024, with all four of its crew members ejecting, the Air Force said. (Arielle Zionts /Rapid City Journal via AP)
FILE - An emergency vehicle barrier stands at Ellsworth Air Force Base in Rapid City, S.D. A B-1 Lancer bomber from the base crashed Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024, with all four of its crew members ejecting, the Air Force said. (Arielle Zionts /Rapid City Journal via AP)
WASHINGTON (AP) — A B-1 Lancer bomber from Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota crashed while trying to land and all four crew members ejected safely, the Air Force said.
The B-1 was on a training mission when the crashed occurred Thursday evening, the 28th Bomb Wing at Ellsworth said in a statement.
Visibility was poor, with freezing temperatures and low clouds, according to automated weather reporting equipment recording airfield conditions. The military is investigating the crash.
Three crew members were treated on base for minor injuries and released, according to a statement Friday. The fourth crew member was at a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The B-1 is a conventional supersonic bomber that first came into service in the 1980s. It has been used to support the U.S. bomber presence in the Asia-Pacific region and to conduct close air support missions in U.S. operations in Afghanistan. It does not carry nuclear weapons.
While 100 were originally built, fewer than 60 remain in service at Dyess Air Force Base in Texas and Ellsworth.
