February 23

What happened on February 23 in aviation and space history.

• February 23, 2008

  Loss of the B-2 Spirit «Spirit of Kansas» at Guam

  Accident — On 23 February 2008 the B-2 «Spirit of Kansas» (89-0127), of the 393rd Bomb Squadron, crashed on the runway seconds after takeoff from Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, after moisture in its air data sensors fed the flight control computers bad information, triggering an abrupt pitch-up and stall. Both pilots ejected and survived; it was the first operational loss of a B-2 and, with the aircraft destroyed, the costliest aviation accident in history to that date.