We Almost Nuked North Carolina

It was January 23, 1961 and JFK had just been sworn in as President a few days earlier, and we almost accidentally exploded a 4 Megaton nuclear bomb over Goldsboro, NC according to a story published in The Guardian today. A b-52 bomber carried 2 live bombs when it broke up in flight, releasing the weapons, as discovered by investigative journalist Eric Schlosser while researching a book.

he bombs fell to earth after a B-52 bomber broke up in mid-air, and one of the devices behaved precisely as a nuclear weapon was designed to behave in warfare: its parachute opened, its trigger mechanisms engaged, and only one low-voltage switch prevented untold carnage.

The US government denied there was any risk, but more than 52 years later the truth is out, proving once more that the government will cover up anything that might be embarrassing, especially if it involves the military.  Some things haven't changed.

Though there has been persistent speculation about how narrow the Goldsboro escape was, the US government has repeatedly publicly denied that its nuclear arsenal has ever put Americans' lives in jeopardy through safety flaws. But in the newly-published document, a senior engineer in the Sandia national laboratories responsible for the mechanical safety of nuclear weapons concludes that "one simple, dynamo-technology, low voltage switch stood between the United States and a major catastrophe".

The document was uncovered by Schlosser as part of his research into his new book on the nuclear arms race, Command and Control. Using freedom of information, he discovered that at least 700 "significant" accidents and incidents involving 1,250 nuclear weapons were recorded between 1950 and 1968 alone.
"The US government has consistently tried to withhold information from the American people in order to prevent questions being asked about our nuclear weapons policy," he said. "We were told there was no possibility of these weapons accidentally detonating, yet here's one that very nearly did."