Of Low Spirits and Sticking to One’s Position

The United States Air Force has confirmed that recovery operations remain underway for the B-2A Spirit bomber that made an emergency landing at Missouri’s Whiteman Air Force Base on 10 December 2022. The incident—the second of its type the last 15-months—has forced closure of Whiteman’s only runway and impugned the wisdom of basing the entirety of America’s B-2 fleet and the two bomber wings by which it’s operated at an installation with only one runway.

In a 10 December public statement, the 509th Bomb Wing set forth: “A U.S. Air Force B-2 Spirit experienced an in-flight malfunction during routine operations today and was damaged on the runway at Whiteman Air Force Base after it successfully completed an emergency landing.”

Following the emergency landing and a subsequent fire that was expediently extinguished by Whiteman emergency response crews, the base issued a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) stating its 12,400-foot runway would be closed through the week. The closure has since been extended through the end of 2022. A separate NOTAM also scheduled to end at year’s end was issued on 16 December for the closure of the base’s Taxiway Bravo.

Whiteman brass declined to expound upon how the closures may affect the day-to-day operations of the 509th Bomb Wing and the Air National Guard’s 131st Bomb Wing—the USAF’s sole tactical operators of the enigmatic, long-range, stealth bomber. In addition to housing all twenty of America’s B-2s, Whiteman AFB’s complement of warplanes includes the A-10 Warthogs of the 422nd Fighter Wing, MQ-9 Reapers, and a number of T-38A Talons which support B-2 aircrew currency training.

In conjunction with the 16 December NOTAM, Whiteman published a press release stating that the USAF had enacted a safety pause under which the whole of the B-2 fleet was to be inspected. The measure effectively grounded the bombers, thereby precluding their participation in the 2023 Rose Bowl festivities. Cognizant of appearances and mindful of woeful recruiting numbers, the Air Force has arranged for B-1B Lancer bombers from South Dakota’s Ellsworth Air Force Base to stand in for the temporarily grounded B-2s.

509th Bomb Wing superintendent of public affairs Master Sergeant Beth Del Vecchio stated: “We don’t have a speculated end date [for the safety pause] at this time. And yes, the runway is still closed. Recovery teams are still working out there to minimize any further disruptions, but just like the safety pause, we don’t have a speculated end date. Because the incident is under investigation, we are not releasing any further details on the nature of it, but we will be able to release it once the official investigation is complete.”

Low-resolution satellite imagery showing the stricken B-2 on the Whiteman runway just north Taxiway Bravo has been uploaded to the Internet. Subject imagery ostensibly reveals significant damage to the bomber’s left wing.

Sergeant Del Vecchio offered neither details about the extent to which the bomber is allegedly damaged nor reasons for its continued presence on the runway a full nine-days after the emergency landing. She did, however, confirm that no munitions were aboard the aircraft at the time of the incident.

The 10 December mishap is eerily evocative of a September 2021 accident in which a B-2 dubbed Spirit of Georgia made an emergency landing at Whiteman AFB, departed the runway, and came to rest on its port side. The occurrence was later attributed to faulty landing gear springs and microscopic cracks in key hydraulic components. In contrast to the prevailing instance, the Spirit of Georgia—following its runway excursion—remained on the Whiteman runway only briefly.

FMI: www.af.mil