One of the eight engines that power a B-52 bomber dropped out of the engine compartment and fell to the ground in North Dakota in a Wednesday incident.
According to Defense News, the bomber was on a training flight out of Minot Air Force Base. The pilots were able to land without any of the five crew members on board being injured.
There were no reports of injuries on the ground where the engine fell.
An Air Force spokesman told Defense News the incident occurred 25 nautical miles northeast of the base in an unpopulated area of the state. The Air Force base is a little more than 40 miles from the Canadian border.
The plane was not carrying any weapons at the time of the incident.
The B-52, which first went into service in 1952, is powered by eight Pratt & Whitney TF33-P-3/103 turbofan engines. Four compartments hanging off the wings house two engines each.
The incident renews the debate about how long B-52s should continue flying in America's fleet. The next-generation bomber that eventually replaces the B-52 will be the B-21 Raider, but that will not likely be introduced until sometime in the 2020s.
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