A United States Air Force B-52H Stratofortress strategic bomber crashed shortly after takeoff at Edwards Air Force Base in California on June 15, 2026, killing all eight people on board during a routine radar modernisation test mission. The crew of four military personnel, two Boeing civilian contractors, one government civilian and one Air Force reservist died when the aircraft went down at approximately 11:20 a.m. local time in the Mojave Desert approximately 35 miles east of the base. The crash is the deadliest B-52 accident since 1982 and the first hull loss of the type since 2016. Edwards Air Force Base closed its airfield and stood down all operations. An investigation is expected to take up to six months.
On March 23, 2026, a Colombian Air Force Lockheed C-130H Hercules troop transport aircraft carrying 126 people crashed into dense Amazon jungle approximately 1.5 kilometres from Caucaya Airport in Puerto Leguizamo, Putumayo, just seconds after takeoff. Seventy people were killed and 56 were injured. The aircraft, a 42-year-old plane donated by the United States in 2020, was carrying 113 National Army soldiers, two police officers, and 11 crew members. A post-crash fire and the detonation of soldiers' ammunition severely complicated rescue efforts. The disaster triggered a fierce political crisis in Colombia and exposed deep systemic concerns about the condition and insurance status of the country's military air fleet.
On June 12, 2025, Air India Flight 171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner bound for London Gatwick, crashed into a medical college hostel building just 32 seconds after takeoff from Ahmedabad's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport. Of the 242 people on board, 241 were killed. A further 19 people on the ground died in the impact and fire. The disaster was the first fatal crash involving the Boeing 787, the deadliest aviation accident of the 2020s, and triggered a global investigation into aircraft fuel system safety.
