B-52 bomber
B-52 Stratofortress taking off from Tinker Air Force Base, US.Wiki Commons/Balon Greyjoy

In a freak accident, one of the engines of a US Air Force's B-52 bomber fell off during a flight on Wednesday.

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Despite losing the engine, the B-52 bomber was able to land safely and the five crew members on board have escaped unscathed, Defense News reported. The B-52 was able to make a safe landing as the huge aircraft uses not four, but eight Pratt & Whitney TF33-P-3/103 turbofan engines.

Thankfully, the engine fell on an unpopulated area, roughly 46km from the Minot Air Force Base. The USAF dispatched a UH-1N Huey helicopter to recover the engine debris.

A USAF spokesman said an initial safety investigation is under way, but failed to provide any reason for the accident. The bomber was flying without any weapons on board.

The incident has raised doubts about the aircraft's engines. The B-52 bombers have been flying since 1952, and are expected to remain in operation till 2040. The B-52s are expected to be replaced by the B-21 Raider, a heavy bomber under development by Northrop Grumman. The B-21 looks similar to the infamous B-2 Spirit.

Pratt & Whitney has already proposed an upgrade for the B-52 bombers.

The USAF currently has about 76 B-52 strategic bombers. The bomber was designed and built by Boeing and can carry a 32,000kg payload and can travel distances of up to 14,080km without inflight refuelling.

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