A PIECE has fallen off an aircraft operating from a Suffolk air base - for the second time this year .

Will Clarke

A PIECE has fallen off an aircraft operating from a Suffolk air base - for the second time this year .

Yesterday commanders at RAF Mildenhall said they were keen to trace a missing door from the underside of a massive KC-135 Stratotanker.

The large flap, which is thought to have come loose somewhere between Suffolk, the Wash and Conningsby in Yorkshire, is the second piece of Mildenhall's hi- tech arsenal to go missing this year.

In March a box packed with metal fragments and explosive charges fell off an MC 130Hs.

The MC 130Hs “chaff canister” - designed to explode and confuse missiles - carries “red danger markings” and is about the size of a loaf of bread.

The metal flap, which went missing on Thursday, measures two foot tall and one foot wide.

A spokesman for RAF Mildenhall said: “A small panel from a landing gear door fell off a KC-135 belonging to the 100th Air Refueling Wing during a routine refuelling mission.

“The piece measures one foot by two feet and does not have any hazards associated with it.

“During its refuelling mission, the aircraft travelled from RAF Mildenhall north towards Conningsby, over the Wash, back to RAF Mildenhall, and then around the RAF Mildenhall traffic pattern.

“If anyone discovers this door, they should contact local authorities immediately.”

The chaff canister belonging to the 352nd Special Operations Group was travelling from Suffolk to Wales and then up to the Lake District before returning to Mildenhall via Leeming and Conningsby.

Members of the public have been urged to report the canister to police immediately and have been warned not to move within 10metres of it.

Anyone who finds the door or the canister should call RAF Mildenhall on 01638 542654.