Personally I don't know enough about how nuclear weapons are transported within the United States. I didn't think that loading it on a B-52 was one such method.
The main issue here is, was this actually a legitimate mission that was planned and notified to all appropriate individuals or was this truly indeed a mistake? If it was a mistake, heads should roll, even if that thing was carrying a hundred rubber duckies instead of nukes.
Like I said... this story sounds kind of fishy.

Hey Guys
Where the rubber meets the road on this one, is the fact that operational Nuclear Weapons are NOT carried in a bomb bay or on hardpoint pylons when the aircraft is being flown over the United States ... this practice was stopped many many years ago. Trans-shipment of Nuclear Warheads (or) weapons is via shipping containers and then ONLY in the cargo bays of cargo transport planes. The actual unpacking and loading of nuclear weapons onto a warplane inside the US is ONLY done setting on the tarmac at special sites and then ONLY as a Weapons Handling Excercise - the aircraft remains on the ground and is guarded the entire time that the weapon is outside the Special Weapons Bunkers.

IF ( *BIG IF* ), an aircraft is going to take off as part of a Special Operation, then a 'practice' weapon (or BDU), is used ... NOT A 'HOT' WEAPON. To all ordnance and former ordnance types, you ALL know the difference in the color/marking between a 'hot' weapon and a practice weapon ... the glaring blue color of a practice round can NOT be mistaken for a real weapon (and vice-versa).

How this FUBAR mistake could have happened is beyond me ... the newest member of a loading crew can tell at a glance the difference between hot and practice weapons ... they also should be aware of the SOP/instruction/guidelines ... after all, you learn all of that type of information when you go through the training pipeline prior to ever actually handling ANY real weapons.

That explains why the certification of every member of the loading crew was temporarrily suspended pending the investigations outcome ...
SOMEONE REALLY SCREWED THE POOCH ON THIS ONE.

Some mistakes are so terrible and outrageous that it's crazier than fiction.

Thanks Chief for clearing up wherein the mistake lies, now it makes sense.

Originally Posted by Infern0

unless they fell off, or the plane crashed


which has happened in the past....they have these rules for a reason P80

Well a B-36 with tons of nukes crashed over the Canadian west coast in 1950 and nothing happened. How could this specific thing be any more dangerous?

http://www.portaec.net/library/peace...ash_in_bc.html

Originally Posted by phoenix80

Well a B-36 with tons of nukes crashed over the Canadian west coast in 1950 and nothing happened. How could this specific thing be any more dangerous?

http://www.portaec.net/library/peace...ash_in_bc.html

Thats like saying that because hundreds of nuclear power plants around the world havent melted down, that none will. Accidents happen, and circumstances could be diffrent now than then. It was a grievous mistake. Simple as that.

Originally Posted by phoenix80

Well a B-36 with tons of nukes crashed over the Canadian west coast in 1950 and nothing happened. How could this specific thing be any more dangerous?

http://www.portaec.net/library/peace...ash_in_bc.html

i really am baffled why you are trying to argue this one chief, some one (or multiple people more likely) cocked up BAAAAAD, and the potential for all kind of bad things to happen is huge.

Originally Posted by Chief Bones

As the United States carries on a discussion as to how much Homeland Security is too much, the Air Force seems to have forgotten basic Nuclear Weapons Security ... they carried out a FUBAR operation when they transported live Nuclear Weapons over much of the Continental United States thus violating a veritable library of military instructions and SOPs when dealing with live Nuclear Warshots.



What do you think? Has the Air Force lost it? ... has all of the upheaval caused by Homeland Security and the total involvement with the Iraqi War completely derailed the normal security procedures that govern all aspects of the storage/transportation/usage of Nuclear First Strike Warshots?

There is absolutely NO WAY you can mistake a Nuclear Warshot for a practice BDU/Dummy Round IF you even use the slightest bit of common sense examination of the weapons as they are being unpacked from their packing cases and loaded onto a B-52 (or) any other plane capable of carrying them in a bomb bay or on a wing pylon.

I speak from experience and training ... someone really screwed the pooch on this one.

The Air Force is not allowed to just take Nukes and fly them around without authorization, it is against the Law for DHS to authorize it, it is against the Law for the Base Commander to authorize it, it is against the Law for even the Secretary of the Air Force to authorize it.... I'm not going to get into the specifics on this Board of what needs to take place to move a Special Weapon from one place to another, but the United States Congress will get to the bottom of it, and many heads will roll.

The nukes could not have detonated from a crash. They have to be armed etc. But it was a violation of law and therein is the problem.

Heads will roll only because of partisan politics... so be it. No point in trying to work together, sniping and potshotting is far easier than reaching concensus and working for the greater good.

There have been a few cockups involving nuclear weapons. Florence, SC, Palomares, etc., in most cases the initiating exlosive detonated, spreading highly radioactive material over a considerable area. The cost of cleaning up these errors was huge, not to mention the danger to persons on the ground.

Artillery projectiles are not supposed to be able to detonate until they have travelled a safe distance, but it happens with some regularity.


One day a "mistreated" thermonuclear device may do the same.

That is why this is a major f*ckup, and the persons responsible for nuclear safety have implemented the current regulations for the carriage of nukes.