Whitehorse’s international airport saw some harmless excitement earlier this week.

It involved two fighter jets, one malfunctioning engine and an unplanned Yukon pit stop for two American Air Force crew members now waiting to get home for the holidays.

At 3 p.m. Tuesday, the Erik Nielsen Whitehorse International Airport responded to an “unplanned emergency landing,” Carla Bohman, Yukon Highways and Public Works spokesperson, told the Star Wednesday.

That “unplanned” landing was made by two U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptors, flying to an Alaska air base, U.S. Air Force Maj. Clay Lancaster confirmed in an email Wednesday. 

On their way to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER) in Anchorage, about 800 km west of Whitehorse, one of the F-22s had an “engine malfunction,” said Lancaster, who’s an official spokesperson for the base.

The malfunction prevented the plane from completing its journey.

At that point, a second aircraft was diverted from its course to “provide mutual support and assistance,” Lancaster said. 

“Erik Nielson Whitehorse International Airport was the safest, closest, and most suitable airport for the F-22’s unplanned landing location,” Lancaster said in the email.

“The crew is safe, and we are working on their return to JBER.”

Both aircraft, he said, were assigned to the 3rd Wing at JBER.

Though emergency vehicles arrived on the scene, Bohman said, airport operations were uninterrupted and the landing posed no risk to public safety. 

The U.S. website says a single F-22 Raptor costs about $143 million US.

The aircraft weighs in at 19,700 kg and measures 18.9 m in length, with a 13.6 m wingspan.