Probe after B-52 bomber forced to make landing at RAF Fairford

The B-52 bomber - not pictured - was on a routine training mission

The US Air Force is to investigate what caused an engine failure on one of its B-52 bombers which was forced to make an emergency landing at RAF Fairford.

It circled around Gloucestershire for about 90 minutes on Thursday to burn off fuel before it landed at the county's RAF base at around 17:15 GMT.

The RAF said three B-52 bombers were on a routine training mission from the US when one suffered an engine failure.

The US Air Force has been contacted for comment.

According to an RAF spokesman, the bomber was halfway through the Mediterranean when one of its eight engines shut down, although he added B-52 planes can run on two engines.

"They had to make a decision to either continue or divert, if it was a major emergency it would go to the nearest airfield which could've been southern Italy or France," he said.

It was flown to RAF Fairford as the airfield accommodates US Air Force personnel and is used to handling B-52 aircraft.

The spokesman could not confirm where the bomber had flown from or whether it had been carrying weapons.

US engineers will fly to RAF Fairford to assess the aircraft before it is flown back home which could take a couple of days or up to a week, he added.

The B-52, manufactured by Boeing, is the US Air Force's long-range bomber which entered into service in 1951.

Also known as the Stratofortress, the B-52 is capable of carrying nearly 70,000lbs, 32 tonnes, of weapons and can reach a maximum speed of 1,000km/h.