B-52 emergency landing at Minot airport

[BUFF 8]

2/22/2008, 5:28 p.m. CST

The Associated Press

 

MINOT, N.D. (AP) — A B-52 bomber on a training mission made an emergency

landing at the Minot airport due to aircraft malfunctions and deteriorating

weather, the Air Force said.

A statement from the Minot Air Force Base said five crew members from the

20th Bomb Squadron at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana declared an

in-flight emergency and landed safely early Friday morning.

Col. Joel Westa, the Minot base commander, said in a statement that the

Barksdale crew "performed admirably in very tough conditions."

 

The Air Force would not elaborate on the "aircraft malfunctions."

Tech. Sgt. Marelise Wood said the crews were repairing the B-52 at the Minot

airport on Friday afternoon. Once repaired, the bomber would be flown to the

Minot Air Force Base and then to the Louisiana base, she said.

The Minot Air Force Base's 5th Bomb Wing, which operates 35 B-52 bombers, is

several miles northwest of the city airport. Barksdale Air Force Base is the

country's only other B-52 base.

Airport director Patrick Dame said conditions in Minot were foggy when the

bomber landed at the city airport.

Dame said military aircraft routinely land at the Minot airport but a B-52

using the municipal runway "is highly unusual."

The airport's 7,700-foot runway was able to accommodate the bomber, Dame

said. The emergency landing did not disrupt any commercial traffic at the

airport, he said.

© 2008 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved

[Nesher 629]

good to hear the bomber landed safely :)