PropertyValue
rdf:type
rdfs:label
  • 1966 Palomares B-52 crash
rdfs:comment
  • It was a Cold War era B-52 Stratofortress bomber and Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker mid air collision that destroyed both aircraft and almost caused a nuclear accident. It happened when a B-52G bomber of the USAF Strategic Air Command collided with a KC-135 tanker during mid-air refuelling operation at 31,000 feet (9,450 m) over the Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of Spain. The tanker's flue ignited in the crash, blowing it up, while the bomber broke in to 3 sections before hitting the sea.
  • The 1966 Palomares B-52 crash or Palomares incident occurred on 17 January 1966, when a B-52G bomber of the USAF Strategic Air Command collided with a KC-135 tanker during mid-air refuelling at 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.
owl:sameAs
plane1 destination
  • Seymour Johnson Air Force Base
dcterms:subject
dbkwik:military/property/wikiPageUsesTemplate
Site
  • Mediterranean Sea near Palomares, Almería, Spain
plane1 crew
  • 7
Date
  • 1966-01-17
total fatalities
  • 7
float
  • right
plane1 operator
plane1 type
Type
plane1 tailnum
  • 58
Caption
  • Spain
  • The B28RI nuclear bomb, recovered from 2,850 feet of water, on the deck of the USS Petrel.
Width
  • 200
plane2 crew
  • 4
plane1 origin
plane2 origin
  • Morón Air Base, Spain
plane1 survivors
  • 4
plane2 destination
  • Morón Air Base
plane2 fatalities
  • 4
plane1 fatalities
  • 3
plane2 operator
  • United States Air Force
occurrence type
  • Collision
plane2 type
plane2 tailnum
  • 61
abstract
  • The 1966 Palomares B-52 crash or Palomares incident occurred on 17 January 1966, when a B-52G bomber of the USAF Strategic Air Command collided with a KC-135 tanker during mid-air refuelling at 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. Of the four Mk28 type hydrogen bombs the B-52G carried, three were found on land near the small fishing village of Palomares in the municipality of Cuevas del Almanzora, Almería, Spain. The non-nuclear explosives in two of the weapons detonated upon impact with the ground, resulting in the contamination of a (0.78 square mile) area by plutonium. The fourth, which fell into the Mediterranean Sea, was recovered intact after a 2½-month-long search.
  • It was a Cold War era B-52 Stratofortress bomber and Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker mid air collision that destroyed both aircraft and almost caused a nuclear accident. It happened when a B-52G bomber of the USAF Strategic Air Command collided with a KC-135 tanker during mid-air refuelling operation at 31,000 feet (9,450 m) over the Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of Spain. The tanker's flue ignited in the crash, blowing it up, while the bomber broke in to 3 sections before hitting the sea.