- ACCIDENT DETAILS
Date: January 17, 1966
Time: 10:30
Location: Palomares, Spain
Operator: Military - US Air Force
Flight #: ?
Route: GS Johnson AFB NC - Soviet Border - GS Johnson AFB
AC Type: Boeing B52 Stratofortress/Boeing KC 135A
Registration: 580256/61-0273
cn / ln: 464324/18180
Aboard: 11   (passengers:0  crew:11)
Fatalities: 7   (passengers:0  crew:7)
Ground: 0
Summary: The 1966 Palomares B-52 crash, also called the Palomares incident, occurred, when a B-52G bomber of the United States Air Force's Strategic Air Command collided with a KC-135 tanker during mid-air refueling at 31,000 feet over the Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of Spain. The KC-135 was completely destroyed when its fuel load ignited, killing all four crew members. The B-52G broke apart, killing three of the seven crew members aboard. At the time of the accident, the B-52G was carrying four B28FI Mod 2 Y1 thermonuclear (hydrogen) bombs, all of which fell to the surface. Three were found on land near the small fishing village of Palomares in the municipality of Cuevas del Almanzora, Almerķa, Spain. The non-nuclear explosives in two of the weapons detonated upon impact with the ground, resulting in the contamination of a 0.77-square-mile area with radioactive plutonium. The fourth, which fell into the Mediterranean Sea, was recovered intact after a search lasting 2 1/2 months.
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