COLORADO SPRINGS – The 21st Space Wing at Peterson Air Force Base confirmed to News 5 early Tuesday morning that a B-2 Stealth Bomber landed at the Colorado Springs Airport due to an in-flight emergency.
The Air Force did not say what forced the $1.157 billion bomber to make the landing. A maintenance crew is on the way to Colorado Springs from Missouri to check on the airplane to make sure it is still flightworthy for the trip back to Whiteman Air Force Base in Warrensburg.
An Air Force spokesman says a determination on what happened is not ready for release to the public, only that the pilot determined it was safer to land here than continue on their training flight.
According to the Air Force, the B-2 has a two-person crew and ability to deliver a 40,000-pound payload. The bomber has a range of 6,000 nautical miles before needing to be refueled.
(This story has been updated to clarify that depot maintenance responsibilities occur at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma. Day-to-day maintenance responsibilities happen at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri)
