Fiery End for a B-2 Spirit: How a Small Flaw Led to the Loss of a $2 Billion Aircraft

In December 2022, a catastrophe at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri cost the U.S. Air Force one of its most valuable assets. During a routine landing, the stealth bomber B-2 Spirit, nicknamed the “Spirit of Hawaii,” crashed and burned. The investigation revealed that the incident, which resulted in the loss of an aircraft valued at over $2 billion, was caused by a tiny hydraulic defect. This accident once again raised questions about the reliability and costly maintenance of the aging stealth fleet.

The problems began as the crew prepared to land after an aborted mission. A faulty valve in the right landing gear’s hydraulic system caused a rapid leak, draining both the primary and backup lines. Despite attempts by the onboard computer to compensate for the pressure drop, the system failed. The pilots managed to manually extend the right landing gear, but due to a design flaw, this simultaneously weakened the locking mechanism of the left gear.

The touchdown turned into a disaster. The left landing gear buckled under the aircraft’s weight, causing the bomber to scrape its left wing along the runway for nearly a mile. This tore open fuel tanks and ignited a fire. The pilots showed exceptional composure: one even stood up to slam his full weight on the right brake, trying to keep the plane on the strip. They managed to escape unharmed, but the fire quickly engulfed the aircraft.

Initially, firefighters used water instead of specialized foam, which only worsened the situation. It was only after several minutes that they switched to the foam, but by then, the fire had already spread internally. Two powerful explosions followed: a fuel tank first detonated, and ten minutes later, a second, larger blast sent debris, including a six-foot piece of the fuselage, flying across the runway. Although the fire was extinguished in about an hour, the aircraft was destroyed. The damage was estimated at $300 million for the plane and $27,500 for the runway. The repairs were deemed uneconomical, and the B-2 Spirit was scrapped, reducing the active fleet to 19 units.

This accident was not an isolated case. Similar issues with CryoFit coupling failures had been recorded 25 times across the B-2 fleet, with 10 of those affecting the landing gear hydraulics specifically. The incident also brought to mind a similar event in 2021, when another bomber, the “Spirit of Georgia,” suffered a landing gear collapse at the same base.

The consequences were serious: the entire B-2 fleet was temporarily grounded for safety checks for five months, and the runway remained closed for nearly two weeks. Experts note that such incidents highlight the challenges of operating complex and aging platforms like the B-2, which entered service in the 1990s. As the B-21 Raider is set to gradually replace the older bombers, this costly lesson about the importance of every detail, from design to emergency response, will undoubtedly influence the future maintenance and safety of the next-generation aircraft.