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Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Narrative: The Spirit of Kansas crashed on the runway shortly after take-off. The aircraft was one in a flight of four B-2s that was returning to Whiteman AFB, Mo., following a deployment that began Oct. 5
Moisture in three of the 24 sensors that feed information into the bomber’s computer system caused the sensors to send bad information about the plane’s speed and altitude, and how far up or down the bomber’s nose was pointed. As the jet took off from Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, the onboard computer thought the B-2 was pointed downward, causing the nose to jerk suddenly upward.
The two pilots couldn’t regain control of the bomber and as the left wing struck the runway, the pilots safely ejected.