A U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds F-16 Fighting Falcon made an emergency landing shortly after 2:20 p.m. today at the Quad-City International Airport near Moline because of a minor engine malfunction, the pilot said.

The aircraft remains in an airport hangar being examined and will not leave until the source of a suspected engine problem is corrected, said Elizabeth Isham Cory, spokeswoman for the Chicago regional office of the Federal Aviation Administration.

She said the incident occurred at 2:22 p.m.

"It landed without incident," she said. "The pilot reported engine trouble. It is being examined. It will be there until they figure out what is going on with that engine."

She said no smoke was seen and the plane landed safely. She said "normal procedure" was followed, which means emergency vehicles were dispatched to the landed F-16.

Cory said the aircraft was on its way to Battle Creek, Mich., where the Thunderbirds are scheduled to appear Saturday and Sunday at the Field of Flight Air Show and Balloon Festival, which began Wednesday and runs through Sunday.

She said another F-16 escorted the aircraft that landed to make sure it landed safely.

Maj. Kirby Ensser, the pilot, said he was flying to the show and said "this was closest airport." He said the rest of the team continued onto Battle Creek and he expected to fly on to Michigan soon in another jet.

The Thunderbirds are based at Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas.