B-2 engine catches fire at Andersen - Air Force News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Air Force Times

B-2 engine catches fire at Andersen

A fire ignited in a B-2 Spirit bomber Feb. 26 during a routine ground engine start at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam.

Andersen firefighters extinguished the fire, believed to have started in engine No. 1, according to Air Force reports.

Andersen’s public affairs office described the damage as minor.

An investigation will determine what caused the fire.

“We’re trying to understand the implications of the B-2 fire,” Secretary of the Air Force Michael Donley told reporters March. 2.

Air Force investigations of engine fires in other planes often find the blaze started after engine fan blades broke apart and cut into lines carrying flammable fluids.

The fire ignited at 6:50 a.m. when the preflight crew of two pilots started the bomber’s four General Electric F118 engines, a report said. The pilots and two pilots waiting to fly the bomber safely escaped.

The $2.2 billion stealth aircraft, one of 20 flown by the service, is deployed to Andersen as part of the Air Force’s routine force deployments to the region. The aircraft’s home base is Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo.

The fire is the second reported mishap involving a B-2 bomber in Guam over the past two years.

In 2008, a B-2 bomber crashed shortly after takeoff at Andersen. An investigation determined that wet sensors caused the flight computer to miscalculate the airspeed and pitch angle needed for a successful takeoff. The pilots in the 2008 accident ejected safely.