A look at recent deadly aviation accidents in the US
Jun 17, 2026, 7:00 AM
Smoke plumes rise from a B-52 bomber that crashed shortly after takeoff at a U.S. Air Force base in Southern California, Monday, June 15, 2026. (Debbie Reyes Katz via AP Photo)
Credit: Debbie Reyes Katz via AP
(Debbie Reyes Katz via AP Photo)
LAREDO, Texas (AP) — Three different models of aircraft crashed in recent days in the U.S., killing 21 people in Missouri, California and Texas and leading to federal investigations into the causes.
One person died when a business jet crashed in Laredo, Texas, on Tuesday night. Eight died Monday when a B-52 crashed at Edwards Air Edwards Air Force Base in California. And 12 people were killed when a small plane full of skydivers went down Sunday in Butler, Missouri.
It’s still too early to say what went wrong in the three accidents. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating.
Here’s a look at the three crashes:
The twin jet, a Cessna Citation Latitude, was traveling from Los Cabos International Airport in Mexico to Austin, Texas, when it crashed on a highway not far from Laredo International Airport around 10 p.m. local time Tuesday.
Dashcam footage posted on social media shows the aircraft careening down the highway, taking out a light post before coming to a stop.
In a chaotic scene that some witnesses described as like being in a movie, people left their vehicles and frantically tried to free the six people inside as the plane was on fire. Two people ran to the aircraft with a sledgehammer and shovel, using them to strike the cockpit glass and try propping open the plane’s door.
With the jet tipped on its side and nearly sheared in half, several people managed to climb out it while a firefighter using a small ladder rescued the last remaining passenger who appeared to be unconscious. Police said a person on the plane died, while five officers were treated at a hospital for smoke inhalation.
The plane appeared to have experienced a mechanical failure, Laredo International Airport Director Gilberto Sanchez told KGNS-TV in Laredo. He did not provide details.
NTSB investigators traveled to the scene Wednesday.
A Boeing B-52 Stratofortress crashed Monday while taking off at Edwards Air Force Base in California, bursting into flames on the runway and killing all eight people aboard.
The bomber was in the air a very short time before slamming into the ground about halfway down the runway. Officials at the base said it was taking part in a test mission as part of a program aimed at keeping the oldest aircraft in the U.S. fleet flying for decades to come.
Military personnel and government contractors were aboard the B-52 when it crashed. Aircraft manufacturer Boeing said two of its employees were among those killed.
Although it’s too early to know what caused the crash, aviation safety experts said their first impressions were a possible malfunction in the flight controls or engines.
B-52 long-range bombers, which entered service in 1955, have been used in conflicts involving the U.S. military from Vietnam to Iran.
Col. James Hayes, the deputy commander for the 412 Test Wing, said the plane that crashed Monday was supporting a “radar modernization program.” In 2025, Boeing sent a B-52 to Edwards with a modernized radar system that is key to keeping the bomber in the air through at least 2050.
Authorities have not released the victims’ names. Lauren Smith told local TV reporters that her husband, Jeromy Smith, a U.S. Department of Defense flight test engineer, was among those who died.
A pilot and 11 skydivers were killed Sunday when a single-engine Pacific Aerospace 750XL crashed shortly after taking off from a small airport in Butler, Missouri, about 65 miles (105 kilometers) south of Kansas City.
The plane was only about 100 feet (30 meters) in the air and appeared to be losing power when it made an abrupt left turn before going down on a sunny day, officials and witnesses said.
The passengers included experienced skydivers whose hobby gave them the thrill and serenity they craved, family and friends said. Among them were a skydiving instructor who had made more than 6,800 jumps, a drummer in Kansas City-area bands whose love of the sport helped him to get sober and a grandfather honoring his sister lost to cancer.
Skydive Kansas City operated the turboprop built in 2010 out of Butler Memorial Airport, where it arrived for the first time on June 5, according to data from FlightRadar24.com. Its flight history showed it had previously been flying for weeks at a time in Tennessee and Wisconsin.
Dennis Jacobs, the acting airport manager and Bates County Emergency Management Agency director, said it appeared the plane was losing power and the pilot was trying to make it over a highway and land, but the aircraft stalled, went down nose first and caught fire in a field.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating all factors leading to the crash including how much experience the pilot had with this model of plane and any mechanical or structural problems with the aircraft.
