Live nukes flown overhead

[coolotter88 2]

Live nuclear weapons were attached to a bomber and transported over several states. the mistake resulted in the firing of a commander and President Bush and Robert Gates were both informed very quickly of the incident

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/09/05/ap4086085.html

[topcliff 1]

Wait, so on regular fighter planes, they were carrying nuclear weapons? Over the US? How many states are included in this? I couldn't even imagine what would've happened if one of those planes went down for some reason.

[Mikeaut1 261]

I was reading about this in the newspaper today. Pretty weird. It was unclear too how the weapons ended up on the plane. Very dangerous indeed.

Topcliff - If the plane took off from North Dakota and landed in Louisiana, it must've gone through a few of those central states. Nebraska, Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, extreme eastern Texas, possibly.

[GingerBlokey 30]

Only in America.

I read it in the paper and i had to laugh. What a monumental [indeed.] Marc

[Dupontfan24 0]

Just to clarify a few things: 
6 cruise missiles with nuclear warheads were loaded into a B-52 that flew from Minot AFB in North Dakota to Barksdale AFB in Louisiana. The warheads were intended to be removed before the missiles were put on the aircraft, but apparenty weren't. The crew of the aircraft was not aware there were nuclear weapons aboard untill after they landed. This was a major breach of security, and as a prcaution the Airforce has suspended all routine fighter and bomber flights. That was the reason that the President and the Secretary of Defence were notified. The squad commander responsible for the munitions has been relieved of duty, and several others have been "decertified" from handling nuclear weapons. The fact that these missiles were aboard an aircraft, violates a 90's treaty between Russia and the US to not fly nuclear weapons on fighters and bombers. 

What most people fail to realize is that these weapons were never armed, which means they posed zero threat to anyone. Even if the aircraft had crashed they still could not have detonated without first being armed, then going through the proper launch sequence. Which requires the President, the SOD, at least one member of the Joint Chiefs, and the use of the "football". Another member of the administration who was present would have to confirm the proper launch codes to NORAD. Also, most people don't know that from the 1960's untill the end of the cold war SAC kept nuclear armed bombers in the air at all times on 6 hour shifts, and kept standby aircraft on the ground. So at any given time there would be numerous armed nuclear warheads over the United States, far more dangerous than what happened last week. The reason that it's such a problem was they were loaded without anyone knowing they were nuclear, and then media needed to have this huge doomsday story of missing nukes.

Sorry for the long post, but just wanted to set the facts straight.

[Bluebeard 0]

[JanYpe 17]

Originally posted by: Dupontfan24

Also, most people don't know that from the 1960's untill the end of the cold war SAC kept nuclear armed bombers in the air at all times on 6 hour shifts, and kept standby aircraft on the ground.

quote>

Good clarification. I'd always assumed those guys on death watch just idled off the coast or something though.

[Meg 368]

I'm glad they weren't armed but how do you not notice 6 nuclear warheads?

Is it just me or are people becoming more incompetent?

[Dupontfan24 0]

JanYpe: glad to help

Ski: well, a nuke cruise missle warhead looks the same as a conventional one. usually the only difference in marking is a red stripe with two silver stripe on either side. But in any case someone made a big mistake.

[JanYpe 17]

Some of you voting age yanks should write your congressman; Proposal: That the airforce from now on clearly mark nuclear warheads with a THIS IS FAKE or a THIS MAKES THINGS GO BOOM, in order to avoid oopsies of the thermonuclear variety.

Signed,

Citizen q. Pleasedontvaporizemeyounumbskulls.

[Boggy1 45]

As my Dad said; oops.

Seriously, how on earth could you mistakenly load a number of live nuclear warheads onto an aircraft. Crazy. Heads will roll.

[coolotter88 2]

except no one actually reads those letters, JanYpe.

[ExiL3 10]

this is just epic,... even though they weren't armed (and these rockets can withstand serious damage) the thought is kind of frightening, how incompetent some people are! Stuff like this doesn't just happen in the US though, the only difference is that in the US you HAVE nukes and a mistake with a nuke something different than some arse misplaceing a tank grenade... (happened here in Norway) take care,

[The boy formerly known as Evil Muzz 27]

It's a bad mistake, but I think some people are over-reacting. It's not like the US was seconds away from a Nuclear Holocaust or anything...

[Dupontfan24 0]

Originally posted by: The boy formerly known as Evil Muzz It's a bad mistake, but I think some people are over-reacting. It's not like the US was seconds away from a Nuclear Holocaust or anything...quote>

 

Exactly! this is what I've been saying.

[Insane Child of Bodom 1]

you guys act like this is news....

I bet Bush flies nukes to Alaska daily....you know the best place to launch a nuke is Alaska...plus you can hit Iran/North Korea or even Russia within seconds....

anyway this happened every day when my dad was a kid so who cares....

no big deal...happens almost every day....

[Godzillaman 21]

Yeah...heard about this...A-Channel...Canadian news...Wonderful stuff waking up to. The government could lie about things easily. Who knows...they could do this every day, an you won't probably even know!

Edit: just to let you know that I know that it wasn't armed. I can read just to let you know

[Bluebeard 0]

The sky is falling..

[Barbarossa 51]

You know, I accidentally put Creedence Clearwater Revival in my CD player the other day, and only realized it when I recognized it wasn't Tool. The world didn't blow up, though, since my player wasn't fully armed.

Barbarossa

[Frankie_Grove 32]

Originally posted by: Boggy1 As my Dad said; oops.

Seriously, how on earth could you mistakenly load a number of live nuclear warheads onto an aircraft. Crazy. Heads will roll.quote>

They were not live. And had the plane crashed the only danger would have been ploutonium leakage.

[Nardo69 51]

Originally posted by: Frankie_Grove

Originally posted by: Boggy1 As my Dad said; oops.

Seriously, how on earth could you mistakenly load a number of live nuclear warheads onto an aircraft. Crazy. Heads will roll.quote>

They were not live. And had the plane crashed the only danger would have been ploutonium leakage.quote>

<sarcasm on>

... which is no problem at all as plutonium is not only high-grade radioactive but also one of the most toxic material on this planet ...

In addition to this it is nice to see that weapons which are powerful enough to blow up our nice blue marble are in capable hands ...

<sarcasm off>

[autoVino 26]

the only reason this seems so bad is because the media is all over it.  It was a mistake and we all make some slip ups once in a while.  Besides, no one got hurt and there was a very little threat of anyone getting hurt.  (I think the scariest thing was that the missles were mistaken for non-nuclear ones...)

[DeiBellum 0]

mmmm plutonium leakage......

i know that where i live they normally fly cruise missiles (unarmed test ones)

[Frankie_Grove 32]

Originally posted by: Nardo69

Originally posted by: Frankie_Grove

Originally posted by: Boggy1 As my Dad said; oops.

Seriously, how on earth could you mistakenly load a number of live nuclear warheads onto an aircraft. Crazy. Heads will roll.quote>

They were not live. And had the plane crashed the only danger would have been ploutonium leakage.quote>

... which is no problem at all as plutonium is not only high-grade radioactive but also one of the most toxic material on this planet ... quote>

I'd much rather have a little bit of leakage as opposed to a nuclear explosion, wouldn't you? At least the plutonium leakage can be contained.

[Nardo69 51]

Really?  Do you really think they can handle such a leakage?

All the radioactive Uranium ammo the US forces used in Gulf War I and in former Yugoslavia are stilling killing people by poisoning and the radioactivity.

Where ever these Ammo was used (and as fars as I know ONLY the USA used Uranium ammuniton) leukemia and other forms of cancer are found in a terrifying high level.

And compared to plutonium the Uranium they used in the ammo is rather "harmless" ...

There is just some kind of stuff you shouldn't mess around with at all ...

[Explodingsims 3]

Well, you all know what this mean, the public is going to freak out, and another freedom is going to be lost in favor of safty.....

But seriously, this was really dangerous...

[Voar Tok 4]

Originally posted by: Nardo69 Really?  Do you really think they can handle such a leakage? quote>

First off, those things are designed to be able to survive falling thousands upon thousands of feet.  Second, if I remember correctly, nukes come with emergency parachutes to drop the thing if the plane is going down.  They jettison the thing, where it falls to safety, and within only a few hours, the military will be all over it to pick the thing up.

I wouldn't say that people are getting more incompetent even though this was pretty stupid.  Never the less, despite the average person's ill-conceived terror of nuclear stuff, studies have shown again and again that people take so much care around nuclear devices that we should be more concerned about dying from some thing we perceive to be safe.  The same applies to our irrational fear of hydrogen because the Hindenburg exploded when we drive around with cars powered by gasoline, something that also explodes.

All the radioactive Uranium ammo the US forces used in Gulf War I and in former Yugoslavia are stilling killing people by poisoning and the radioactivity.

Where ever these Ammo was used (and as fars as I know ONLY the USA used Uranium ammuniton) leukemia and other forms of cancer are found in a terrifying high level.

And compared to plutonium the Uranium they used in the ammo is rather "harmless" ... quote>

Where did they use radioactive weapons in either of the conflicts you mentioned?

There is just some kind of stuff you shouldn't mess around with at all ...quote>

While I don't advocate doing everything just "because," that is the same thinking that doctors had about operating on the core of the human body.  Where would we be if someone never had the guts to try it?

[sEAhAwk fAn121 0]

haha thats a big mistake this plane flew about 20 miles west of my house if it "accidently" dropped one from about central Kansas to the Missouri border no more seahawk this is a seriously huge mistake though...

[yoshikoroyimara 5]

Yes...I was notified...by our boss...three people of our "group" had to find intel about that plane...that's all I know except what is known to the public...the gov always separates us to eliminate the possibility that one person knows all...even the President or all the Secretaries of Departments...or Intel groups...

[Voar Tok 4]

Originally posted by: sEAhAwk fAn121 haha thats a big mistake this plane flew about 20 miles west of my house if it "accidently" dropped one from about central Kansas to the Missouri border no more seahawk this is a seriously huge mistake though...quote>

That's the thing.  They could have dropped that thing in my veritable back yard and I would have been just fine.

Most people don't know this, but military warheads do NOT detonate on impact.  The may break wide open (unlikely) but they don't just hit and go blowing everything to hell.  Warheads have to be armed in order for them to detonate.  Otherwise, they'll just make a little hole where they hit and bury themselves at worst.