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| Technology
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| US B-52 'in nuclear cargo error' |
| A B-52 bomber flew across the US last week mistakenly loaded with five nuclear-armed missiles, unnamed air force officials are quoted as saying
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| UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
, 5-September-2007
10:41:3 AM |
| The missiles were unaccounted for during a three-hour flight from a North Dakota air base to one in Louisiana.
Air Force spokesman Lt-Col Ed Thomas told Army Times the cruise missiles were "always in our custody".
Army Times said the missiles were to be decommissioned but were mistakenly mounted on the bomber's wings.
The W80-1 warhead has a yield of five to 150 kilotons, the paper said.
'Decertified'
A military official told AFP news agency that President George W Bush had been informed of the mix-up
"There are procedures in place and they kicked in and worked," the official said.
The BBC's Adam Brookes in Washington says experts have made it clear that if the plane had crashed there would not have been a nuclear explosion but there could have been a threat from plutonium leakage.
The flight was reportedly on 30 August from the Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota to the Barksdale Air Force Base near Bossier City in Louisiana.
Col Thomas told Army Times: "Air Force standards are very exacting when it comes to munitions handling.
"The weapons were always in our custody and there was never a danger to the American public."
Col Thomas said the loading crew involved had been temporarily "decertified" pending retraining and an investigation had been launched.
A full US military statement is expected soon
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