A U.S. Air Force B-52 Stratofortress crashed Monday after taking off from a California base and burst into flames, according to service officials, with the eight individuals on board presumed dead. The aircraft crashed shortly after its takeoff on Edwards Air Force Base at 11:20 a.m. local time, according to a base announcement.

Eight people have died in a shocking plane crash at a U.S. Air Force Base in California. The B-52 bomber crashed shortly after take-off at Edwards Air Force Base, north of Los Angeles in the Mojave Desert,