The US Air Force has fired four officers and disciplined 65 other members after discovering that six nuclear missiles were flown by mistake from North Dakota to Louisiana on August 30.
“In the countless times our dedicated airmen have transferred weapons in our nation's arsenal, nothing like this has ever occurred,” said Air Force Maj. Gen. Richard Newton, announcing the results of the military’s six-week investigation into the incident.
On August 29, cruise missiles with nuclear warheads were removed from a secure shelter and loaded onto a B-52 bomber along with unarmed missiles at Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota, where they sat on the runway for 24 hours. The shipment of unarmed missiles were scheduled for decommissioning in Louisiana.
The following day, crew members took off with the bomber and the weapons for the three-hour flight to Barksdale Air Force Base in north-western Louisiana – entirely unaware that they were carrying nuclear warheads.
Once the bomber landed at Barksdale, the nuclear missiles sat on the runway without being discovered for a further nine hours.
The investigation found that officers failed on five separate occasions to inspect the missiles and identify the error – there were four missed opportunities in North Dakota and one in Louisiana.
Mr Newton said the failures of the officers could not be attributed to lack of time or resources.
“This was a failure to follow procedures,” he said. “Clearly, this incident is unacceptable to the people of the United States and to the United States Air Force. We owe the nation nothing less than adherence to the highest standards.”
At the same time, Mr Newton praised munitions personnel in Louisiana. “At Barksdale, the munitions personnel followed the correct procedures,” he said. “They unloaded the weapons between 7:20 and 8:30 that evening, inspected them and immediately reported the mistake and established appropriate security.”
Three colonels and one lieutenant colonel have been relieved of their duties. In addition, 65 members of the Air Force were stripped of their clearance to handle nuclear weapons.
A three-star general will now review the findings and further determine whether anyone involved should face court-martial proceedings.
