A B-1 Lancer bomber from Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota crashed Thursday, with all four of its crew members ejecting, the Air Force said.
The B-1 crashed “at approximately 5:50 p.m. today while attempting to land on the installation. At the time of the accident, it was on a training mission. There were four aircrew on board. All four ejected safely,” the 28th Bomb Wing at Ellsworth said in a statement.
At the time of the crash visibility was poor with freezing temperatures and low clouds, according to automated weather reporting equipment recording airfield conditions.
It was about 3 in the morning in the middle of Wyoming when I needed to go to the bathroom. So, I stopped on the side of the road. While I was doing my business, a B-1 came out of nowhere about 500 feet off the ground doing sub mach, thankfully, right over me. Scared the hell out of me.
First, the beginning of your post sounds like the opening line to Jimmy Buffett’s “The Devil I Know”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9WBXNW8Kj4
Second, my favorite experience with the B-1 was at the Edwards AFB air show. They were at max power, full afterburner, but near stall - the nose was pointed way up and they were just crawling across the sky. The ground shook; the cars were parked on the flightline (pre-9/11), and every car alarm went off at the same time. It was awesome.
