MINOT, ND (KFGO) - The Air Force is investigating after an engine dropped from a B-52 bomber over western North Dakota.
Maj. Jamie Humphries, a public affairs officer at Minot Air Force Base, tells KFGO News that the engine fell off the plane during a training mission. Five crewmembers were aboard. The plane was not carrying weapons and no one was injured.
"We had a B-52 takeoff on a local training mission, or 'sortie' as we call it. (The pilot) declared an inflight emergency when the pilot discovered that an engine had physically dropped from the aircraft."
In an interview with KFGO News, Former National Transportation Safety Board Chairman and retired Air Force General Mark Rosenker called the incident "absolutely extraordinary."
The Air Force says the engine fell in a remote area, about 25 miles northeast of Minot Air Force Base
Humphries says it could take several months to determine the cause.