Declassified Reports Reveal 1961 B-52 Crash Nearly Triggered Nuclear Disaster

In January 1961, a B-52 bomber disintegrated over North Carolina and released two hydrogen bombs — one of which, declassified Sandia documents revealed sixty years later, powered itself up and began its arming sequence during the fall. The weapon progressed toward detonation until a single safety switch, functioning as designed, interrupted the chain at the moment of impact. The 2021 release of these findings invites a long-overdue reckoning with how close the nuclear age came, on ordinary days, to catastrophes that never entered the public memory.