Video: '17th January 1966: Palomares incident sees a B-52 mid-air collision and dropping four nuclear bombs'
(Monday, January 17, 1966, 10:22 a.m. Central European Time; during the Cold War) — A U.S. Air Force B-52 bomber carrying four hydrogen bombs collided with a KC-135 tanker aircraft during a midair refueling operation today, scattering nuclear weapons over the southeastern coast of Spain and touching off an intensive American and Spanish search for one bomb still missing.
The Air Force said the crash occurred near the coastal town of Palomares as the bomber, flying at about 31,000 feet, approached the tanker for refueling. The B-52 suddenly pitched upward and struck the KC-135, igniting a fireball that engulfed both planes.
All four crewmen aboard the tanker were killed. Four of the seven men aboard the bomber parachuted to safety; three others perished in the explosion.
Video: '1966 Palomares B-52 Crash - Animation'
American officials confirmed that the bomber had been carrying four Mark-28 thermonuclear weapons, each with a potential yield of 70 kilotons. They emphasized that none of the bombs detonated.
One bomb descended safely beneath a parachute near this farming community on the Mediterranean coast. Two others plunged to earth at high speed, rupturing their conventional explosives and scattering radioactive plutonium dust across roughly one square mile of fields, prompting Spanish civil authorities to cordon off the area.
Video: 'The Palomares Incident – The Nuclear Bombs That Poisoned Spain’s Coast'
The fourth bomb is believed to have dropped into the sea. Navy vessels, aircraft and divers were dispatched to begin a wide-ranging search of the Mediterranean, but officials said the depth and currents made recovery difficult (the fourth bomb fell into the Mediterranean Sea and was recovered intact after an extensive 80-day search involving the U.S. Navy, including the use of submersibles such as DSV Alvin).
Authorities assured residents that no nuclear explosion had occurred and said that early surveys indicated no immediate danger to nearby villages. U.S. officials declined to answer questions about the bomber’s mission, and initial military statements made no mention of nuclear weapons, referring only to “special cargo.”
American and Spanish forces continued their search on land and sea as investigators sought to determine why two seasoned crews collided during a routine refueling operation.
