Oopsie Daisy: US B-52's Engine Falls Off Mid-Flight During Training Exercise

Pilots of a US Air Force B-52 strategic bomber on a training mission outside Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota had quite a fright Wednesday after one of the aircraft's engines dropped out of the plane mid-flight.

Thankfully, the pilots were able to land the aircraft safely using the massive plane's remaining seven turbofan jet engines. Defense News was able to confirm that none of the five personnel on board sustained any injuries, and that an Air Force Huey helicopter has been sent to recover engine debris, which luckily fell on an unpopulated area about 25 nautical miles (46 km) northeast of the airbase at Minot.

An Air Force spokesman was quoted by ABC News as saying that the crew had "declared an in-flight emergency when the pilot discovered that an engine departed the aircraft."

The spokesman added that there were no weapons on board, and that the plane was on a local training mission. A safety investigation has been initiated.

The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is a long-range strategic bomber that has been in service with the US Air Force since the 1950s. The aircraft has received multiple upgrades, and continues to be used as a heavy bomber, including most recently in the US war in Afghanistan. B-52s are mostly used in missions against countries that do not have sophisticated air defense capabilities, and drops both precision and non-precision munitions. The planes also complement the US nuclear triad.

B-52s are among the oldest planes in the US Air Force's fleet, and the newest of the planes is over 50 years old. According to Defense News, the incident "could…ignite debate about whether and how to re-engine the service's B-52 inventory," which consists of 76 B-52s. The Air Force plans to continue operating the planes until at least 2040, when they are expected to be replaced by the B-21, a new $550 million a pop heavy bomber developed by weapons manufacturer Northrop Grumman.