A B-52 bomber on a training mission from Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana was forced to make an emergency landing at the Minot International Airport early this morning.

According to a press release from Minot Air Force Base Public Affairs office, the five crew members from the 20th Bomb Squadron at Barksdale declared an in-flight emergency due to aircraft malfunctions and deteriorating weather conditions at the base.

The B-52 just recently left the airport.

No one from the Minot Air Force Base could be reached for comment on the situation.

In the press release it stated that the 5th Bomb Wing Commander Colonel Westa is appreciative of the help from the city ON CAM of Minot and the International Airport in assisting them with the situation and their on-going support of the Minot Base.

Airport director Patrick Dame says military aircraft routinely land at the airport but the use of a municipal runway by a B-52 is very uncommon.

Dame says the airport's 77-hundred foot runway is able to handle the B-52 but it isn't as long as military personnel would like.

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