February 23rd, 2008- a day much like any other, except in a few minutes the world will see
the most expensive aircraft accident in history.
By the time the morning is over, the United States military will have lost 1/60th of Russia's
total defense budget in one massive fiery wreck.
Waiting to taxi on the flight line of Andersen Air Force Base in Guam are two B-2 spirit
bombers, the world's most advanced bomber aircraft.
The planes are jam-packed with so much secret technology, that every single person involved
in the operation of the aircraft- from the mechanics who's job it is to check the tire
pressure, to the pilot themselves- must have at minimum a Secret security clearance.
Each plane represents a sizable investment, with an estimated value of $1.4 billion per
plane.
Despite their extensive service history though, not a single B-2 has ever suffered an accident
or been lost in combat- until now.
The B-2s are in Guam as part of the US's defense commitments in the Pacific.
With a range of well over 10,000 miles (16,000 km) with aerial refueling, the stealthy bombers
have one job in the Pacific: be on alert for a breakout of hostilities against China, and
then penetrate their most well-protected air space and strike at vital military and communications
infrastructure.
As the world's most advanced bombers, the B-2s are the only aircraft in the world capable
of pulling such a suicidal job off, and have done so many times before in the past.
The plane's tour of duty is over however, and now the two planes prepare for a long
trip back to the continental US for maintenance and refitting.
For the pilots, it's a chance to see their families again, and the four pilots spread
out across the two aircraft are more than eager to take to the air.
The first B-2 soon throttles its engines, and releases the parking brake to start lumbering
forward.
The B-2's engines are unlike any other engines on earth.
Within the flying wing design are nestled four powerful engines able to carry a load
of over 300,000 pounds (136,077 kg) up to an estimated 50,000 feet.
That means the B-2 can carry up to 80 500 pound bombs or eight nuclear weapons, all
while not compromising its legendary stealth characteristics.
To aid in maintaining that stealth though the B-2's engines are engineered so that their
hot exhaust is rapidly cooled before being expelled, helping the B-2 to hide even from
thermal sensors.
The first B-2 soon lifts up into the air in a picture-perfect ascent, the giant flying
wing quickly gaining altitude.
An extremely challenging design, the flying wing is notoriously difficult to fly as it
lacks vertical surfaces and requires specialized horizontal control surfaces to control.
The flying wing was initially tested back in the 1950s, though a spew of crashes and
pilot deaths quickly shelved the idea for another two decades.
Designers quickly realized that human beings alone were incapable of piloting a flying
wing, as it required the simultaneous and careful oversight of numerous control surfaces
to keep it in stable flight.
In the 1970s advancements in computers finally made flying wing designs feasible, and by
the end of the decade the US government had secretly built a computer capable of keeping
a flying wing designed aircraft in stable and controlled flight even in the most inclement
of weather.
Without the computer, pilots would not be able to keep their B-2 in stable flight for
very long and would risk crashing.
Yet it would not be the computer that failed the crew of the Spirit of Kansas this day.
With the first B-2 in the air, the second B-2, Spirit of Kansas, quickly got into position
for takeoff.
Initial flight checklists had cleared the aircraft for flight, and the pilots saw no
reason for concern as they began to taxi.
Unbeknownst to the pilots though, their B-2 was suffering from a very serious, and completely
undetectable flaw.
Aircraft typically have various air flow sensors throughout their body that helps the flight
computer determine things such as pressure, altitude, wind speed, and all matter of other
data needed for high precision flying.
On non-stealthy aircraft these sensors are typically on the body or wings of the aircraft
and exposed to incoming air via small holes that allows them to collect their data.
For a stealthy B-2, this would not be an option.
The flying wing design was always known to be inherently stealthy, as the lack of vertical
surfaces meant that radar returns from most angles would be either deflected or very weak.
This is one of the secrets to successful stealth technology, and it is a myth that a stealth
aircraft can simply fly straight to their target and through any radar undetected.
In truth, stealth pilots carefully navigate a pre-planned route that requires knowledge
of enemy radar emplacements, then as they fly to their target, they fly a route that
presents the stealthiest angle of their aircraft to enemy radar.
No stealth aircraft is 100% stealthy from all angles, that is sadly a physical impossibility.
So instead, pilots must understand their aircraft's stealth features extremely well, and need
good intelligence on actual or suspected enemy radar emplacements.
Then the stealth aircraft will simply fly a round-about route that might require several
turns in order to provide the smallest signature possible to enemy radar and hopefully either
go undetected, or provide such a weak return that a weapons lock is impossible.
For the B-2, any opening in the flying wing body would completely compromise its stealth,
and thus embedded sensors with openings for airflow were not an option.
Engineers would simply need to make a scientific breakthrough and create sensors that could
be placed on the skin of the aircraft itself.
Incredibly, the B-2 designers managed to do just that, though the details remain highly
classified.
The sensors though would require very careful maintenance- in fact, the B-2 is the most
expensive aircraft to maintain in the world, and the most maintenance intensive.
Each flight hour would cost well over $100,000 in maintenance costs, and over 100 man-hours
of actual maintenance.
But when you're dealing with the most advanced flight and stealth technology in the world,
this is hardly surprising- and a major reason why only the United States can afford to operate
the legendary bomber.
Unfortunately though on that morning, the maintenance crews had made one crucial mistake.
As the B-2 lumbered down the runway, it began to pitch up into the sky.
Control of the B-2's flying wing design is so difficult, that the pilots require computer
assistance even just for taking off.
The computer in turn requires good data from air-data sensors spread out across the aircraft's
skin.
This morning, it would get bad data from three different sensors, dooming the big plane.
While on ready status, the B-2 must be kept within a specialized multi-million dollar
mobile hangar that is pre-deployed to anywhere in the world that B-2s operate from.
These hangars are air-conditioned and protect not just the aircraft from harm, but the classified
stealth coating which must be frequently reapplied.
In the days leading up to the Spirit of Kansas's return home, Guam had suffered from massive
rain storms, and all that rain had led to accumulation of condensation inside of the
plane's air-data sensors.
The condensation had led to maintenance crews improperly calibrating the B-2's computer
for flight operations, and now the big plane would suffer for it.
Due to faulty data, the computer immediately calculated an inaccurate angle of attack,
leading it to believe that instead of perfectly level flight as it lumbered down the runway,
the aircraft was actually pitched down just slightly.
As the plane's wheels left the ground, the computer then compensated, still believing
it was pitched too low to gain altitude, and immediately put the aircraft into a steep
30 degree pitch upwards.
The computer's faulty sensor data also led it to believe it was moving faster than it
actually was, which is what allowed the computer to make such a steep and sudden pitch upwards.
Moving at such low take-off speeds though, the sudden pitch induced a great deal of drag
and compromised the aerodynamic properties of the aircraft.
Within seconds the aircraft started yawing left and the left wing gouged into the ground.
The pilots fought the controls to save the aircraft but were unable to- the plane was
in an unrecoverable stall.
With just seconds before the B-2 crashed back to the runway and exploded in a massive fireball,
the pilots ejected, safely clearing the massive explosion that quickly followed.
Luckily, the planes weren't carrying any ordnance, only an as-yet classified payload which must
not have been explosive.
Though both pilots survived the accident, one would have to be hospitalized for injuries
sustained in the sudden and violent ejection.
In just the span of 30 seconds, the United States lost $1.4 billion dollars and compromised
its abilities to respond against aggression by an advanced adversary.
To compensate for the single B-2, six B-52s had to be immediately mobilized and dispatched
to Guam, proving just how incredibly powerful and capable these advanced machines are.
In service for almost 40 years though, these incredible aircraft remain the most advanced
bombers ever created, even as the US prepares to reveal to the world the successor to the
B-2, the B-21 Raider.
If the thought of losing $1.4 billion dollars in a single go makes you wince as hard as
it does us, maybe we can help take your mind off this massive loss of taxpayer money with
this great video over here, or maybe you prefer this other one instead!
Either way, click one now, because unlike that B-2 on that fateful day, we guarantee
you our video's aren't a complete disaster!