Air Force begins clearing B-1Bs to fly as safety inspections continue May 6 A transient B-1B bomber from the 7th Bomb Wing out of Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, sits on the RAF Mildenhall flight line in July 2012. ( 2nd Lt. Christopher Mesnard/Air Force) The Air Force is beginning to return B-1B bombers to the air after grounding the entire fleet last month to investigate a fuel system issue. Some Lancers resumed flight operations Monday, about two weeks after Air Force Global Strike Command ordered the fleet of 57 aircraft to stand down for safety inspections. The service declined to say how many were cleared for flight, citing operational sensitivities.
Entire B-1B bomber fleet grounded over fuel pump filter housing problem 1 hour ago A B-1B Lancer sits on the flightline while receiving a post-flight inspection Nov. 9. (Airman 1st Class Joshua Seybert/U.S. Air Force) The Air Force has again pulled its entire B-1B bomber fleet from the skies as it investigates problems with a part of the fuel system. Gen. Tim Ray, head of Air Force Global Strike Command, indefinitely grounded the service’s 57 active Lancers amid safety concerns April 20, a command spokesperson said Friday. The War Zone first reported the standdown. “During the inspection process following a B-1B ground emergency on April 8 at Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota, a discrepancy with an augmenter fuel pump filter housing was discovered,” the command said. “As a precautionary measure, the commander directed one-time inspections on all B-1B aircraft to resolve this issue.”