---
title: "You need to see this incredible B-1B Bomber crash landing"
description: "On October 4th, 1989, a B-1B with malfunctioning nose landing gear was forced to crash land on a runway in California."
date: "2021-06-16"
modified: "2023-05-11"
authors:
  - name: "Logan Nye"
    job_title: "Senior Contributor, Army Veteran"
    link: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/authors/logan-nye.md"
url: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/tactical/b-1b-bomber-crash-landing/"
categories:
  - "Air Force"
  - "Aircraft"
  - "History"
  - "Tactical"
---

# You need to see this incredible B-1B Bomber crash landing

![b-1b](<https://www.wearethemighty.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/b-1b.webp>)

In a 1989 incident, the Air Force crew of a B-1B bomber found itself unable to lower the front landing gear during a training flight and was forced to execute an emergency landing in the dry lake bed at [Edwards Air Force Base, California](<https://www.wearethemighty.com/mighty-history/the-complete-base-guide-to-edwards-air-force-base.md>).

The four-person crew was executing a routine training flight without nuclear weapons onboard on Oct. 4, 1989, and [realized three hours into the flight that the front landing gear was malfunctioning](<https://www.nytimes.com/1989/10/05/us/b-1-makes-desperate-touchdown-after-part-of-landing-gear-fails.html>). Over the next nine hours, the crew worked to get the gear down.

![B-1B crash](<https://www.wearethemighty.com/wp-content/uploads/legacy/assets.rbl.ms/17237884/origin.gif>)
*B-1B crash (GIF: [YouTube](<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmZC5uaw69s>)/airailimages)*

Investigators [later blamed a hydraulic failure](<https://theaviationist.com/2014/02/26/b-1-lakebed-landing/>), but the crew in the air just knew that they had to reach the ground safely. The Air Force routed the plane to a dry lake bed in California that was often used for landing the space shuttle.

The dust of the Rogers Dry Lake bed is more likely than most surfaces to allow for a safe skid, reducing the risk to the crew and plane. The full landing is visible from a few angles in this video from [airailimages](<https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfuWmh-WTfsyVNaTy-JZr2Q>):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmZC5uaw69s

*Feature image: screen capture from [YouTube](<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmZC5uaw69s>)/Airrailimages*

## Author
Logan was an Army journalist and paratrooper in the 82nd. Now, he's a freelance writer covering military history, culture, and technology. He has two upcoming podcasts and a Twitch channel focused on basic military literacy.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://twitter.com/JustLoganNye>)  
[Facebook](<https://www.facebook.com/ProfHarlequin-111921498198749>)

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