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Malfunctioning B-2 bomber damaged during landing at Missouri base

By Jake Thomas
A B-2 Spirit stealth bomber, similar to the one pictured, made an emergency landing this week at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, ending up off the side of the runway. File Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI
A B-2 Spirit stealth bomber, similar to the one pictured, made an emergency landing this week at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, ending up off the side of the runway. File Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI
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Sept. 16 (UPI) -- A B-2 Spirit stealth bomber made an emergency landing at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri earlier this week after the high-tech aircraft malfunctioned during a training flight.

The emergency landing, which occurred around 12:30 a.m. on Tuesday, did not cause any injuries or fires, Jennifer Greene, a spokeswoman for Air Force Global Strike Public Affairs told KMBC News.

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Greene said the incident is under investigation and more information will be released as it becomes available.

KMBC said it was tipped off to the crash after the Federal Aviation Administration issued a temporary flight restriction for an accident investigation.

The emergency landing occurred at Whiteman's only runway and the Air Force put up a 6-mile circular temporary flight restriction around the base, according to The Drive, which first reported the incident.

The aircraft is coated with materials that can be extremely toxic if damaged, it reported.

The Air Force has not released details on the extent of the damage, Military.com reported.

But satellite images appear to show the aircraft ran off the runway as its wing dug into the ground, possibly because of a landing gear collapse, according to The Drive.

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The 20-aircraft B-2 fleet has mostly operated from its home base of Whiteman Air Force Base.

The stealth bombers reach high subsonic speeds and have an intercontinental range of about 6,900 miles without refueling.

The aircraft rotate deployments through the Indo-Pacific region, as well as Europe and the Middle East, with it's first deployment to Hawaii coming 2018.

This week, the B-2 Spirit stealth bombers returned from a deployment in Iceland.

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