Air crew blamed for lake bomb

? Human error caused a 2nd Bomb Wing B-52 crew to accidentally drop nine inert concrete bombs into a Kansas lake this summer, the Air Force said Tuesday.

No one was injured and no property was damaged in the July 19 incident, during which a bomber from the 96th Bomb Squadron, based at Barksdale Air Force Base, lobbed nine practice bombs – without explosives – into Kanopolis Lake. That’s a popular recreational area in Ellsworth County, Kan., near the Smoky Hill Air National Guard Range not far from Salina.

“The report’s findings conclude the bomb system equipment onboard the aircraft functioned properly, but that incorrect coordinates were entered into the targeting system,” the 8th Air Force said in a news release. “The aircrew did not realize the error until immediately after release of the inert training weapons.”

The bomber’s training mission included a refueling, which occurred without mishap, followed by the bombing run.

Barksdale officials said the unidentified air crew involved “was temporarily grounded and underwent tightly monitored retraining and qualification processes to ensure this kind of error would not happen again.”