Congress, Media, Military, Politics, Society

Documents Details Near Nuclear Explosion Over North Carolina Due To Air Force Accident

Slim-pickens_riding-the-bomb_enh-loresInvestigative journalist Eric Schlosser has uncovered near disaster of epic proportions after a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request confirmed that a 4 megaton nuclear bomb almost exploded over North Carolina in 1961 — an explosion that would have been 260 times more powerful than Hiroshima and would have devastated the United States. What is amazing is that, once again, the government used classification laws to hide that fact that it almost destroyed the large part of the country and was saved by a simple low-voltage switch that fortunately was able to deactivate the armed bomb. The details were hidden for over fifty years by the government.

250px-Nuclear_fireballThe incident occurred when a B-52 bomber broke up in mid-air. For years, many objected to the flying of such weapons over populated areas due to the danger of accidents, which occurred repeatedly in this country and other countries. In this case, two Mark 39 hydrogen bombs fell to Earth on January 23, 1961 and one of the bombs went “hot” with a deployed parachute, trigger mechanism engaged, and ready to explode. Only the single low-voltage switch stopped the explosion. If that little switch had malfunctioned or was damaged, the Air Force would have unleashed the equivalent of 4 million tons of TNT explosive on this country — sending lethal fallout over Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia and as far north as New York city.

One would have thought that such an accident would have led to a public debate over safety protocols and flight patterns. However, that did not occur because the public was never told. Instead, Congress and the military repeatedly assured the public that such flights were entirely safe and subject to overlapping failsafe systems.

You will notice that there is no call in Congress to investigate the use of classification laws to hide the incident for over 50 years. Indeed, the story has been barely reported at all.

We do however have a picture of our military safety team responding to the mishap:

Source: Guardian

75 thoughts on “Documents Details Near Nuclear Explosion Over North Carolina Due To Air Force Accident”

  1. That’s a strange viewpoint about only taking Israeli airlines. You’d think they would be more of a target, especially if the Israeli involvement with 3/11 ever gets to mainstream press. Now, there’s where we need a bold nation to take a stand & thoroughly investigate for the sake of our whole planet. Here we have the government of a formerly suppressed people switching into the beingness of its aggressor, Hitler & the Nazis, & becoming the suppressor.

  2. Choice of pictures by the blogger …obvious, but inappropriate. This could be the way our planet ends; if this was just discovered, the jokes need to take second fiddle to a serious investigation & check on current arrangements. However, we may need a regime change without the donkeys & elephants before effective investigations are truly possible in this country.

  3. ”Duck & Cover”…… and hide under your wooden desk, kids, that’ll save you!!! Yeah, I remember the drills…

  5. We don’t seem to have any congressmen with gonads in Washington. Maybe some women will pick up the slack? The president is so busy handing out goodies to the military / security industrial complex, banks and other assorted corporations while trying to prove he is just as belligerent as the next guy that he cannot be bothered to make sure the humans in this country are safe from our own stupidity!

  6. FRANK, – I agree wholeheartedly with your pondering this piece of the “American (Cow) Pie”! – My particular slice of interest is the “Rats Nest of Airline CEO’s and FAA FutherMuckerzz” who have been unmasked by especially private investigations and their documentaries.
    Since I finally landed after my delayed return from France following 9-11, I have found more and more reasons to abide by my vow to never take any flight unless the provider is an Israeli Airline.

  7. We need a Congressional Hearing by someone with gonads like the Church Committee to explore the classified items stored away which are important to us all.

  8. Can anyone think of a nation that actually has used Weapons of Mass Destruction, for a change? A belligerent nation?

    How about insisting that the nation be disarmed?

    No, we’re not “exceptional,” unless that’s a euphemism for “homicidal.”

  9. OS,

    Nothing sounds quite like a shockwave.

    And those are mushrooms no sane person would want to pick.

  11. Government classification of data as “Top Secret” has always mainly been a dodge for covering up incompetence. The propaganda re: the need for secrecy has been massive and has permeated all media for hundreds of years. The height of the craze was reached in “The Cold War” and once it reached its level then, it has never gone below it.

  13. Reblogged this on Brittius.com and commented:
    “the country and was saved by a simple low-voltage switch that fortunately was able to deactivate the armed bomb.” = Meaning: MALFUNCTION. Thank God, for the “lowest bidder”!

  15. We may as well have Slim Pickens in charge of our nukes; he couldn’t muck it up any more than the “experts” did…

  19. The photo choices for this column? Perfect.

    The fact that the government hid this using “national security” as an excuse?

    Unacceptable.

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