A hydraulic system failure caused a B-2 Spirit stealth bomber’s landing gear to collapse in 2022, which sparked a ferocious fire that led to the aircraft’s retirement, an accident investigation board found.

The accident investigation report, which the Air Force released Tuesday, also faulted a design flaw with the B-2’s landing gear and a firefighter commander’s mistaken decision not to use fire suppressant foam right away.

The B-2, which was from the 509th Bomb Wing at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, and dubbed the “Spirit of Hawaii,” took off the morning of Dec. 10, 2022, and later began to fly back to base without incident.

As the bomber approached Whiteman’s runway, its pilot began to lower the landing gear. All three landing gear doors began the unlocking process normally, but

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