Air Force secretary: B-52 engine 'disintegrated'

The engine that fell off a B-52 bomber this week over North Dakota “disintegrated” and is sitting at the bottom of a river bed, the Air Force secretary said on Friday.

Secretary Deborah Lee James said the incident is still under investigation, but noted that early findings suggest that the engine suffered a catastrophic failure, “seemingly disintegrated” and fell off. Its location at the bottom of a river bed will make it more difficult to recover, but James said officials will still try to retrieve it to collect more information about what caused the accident. No one was hurt.