B-52, taking off from North Carolina on a Chrome Dome mission, begins its second in-flight refueling mission a couple of miles above Spain. The plane rendezvouses with the tanker too quickly, enters the refueling pipe, which explodes and turns the tanker into a fireball, killing all four crew members. Four of the B-52’s crew members manage a daring escape, while two others die inside the plane, which crashes near Palomares. It was carrying four Mark-28 nuclear bombs. The village in southern Spain is remote, poor, and poorly served by roads. Three of the four bombs are found in the first hours of the search. The Marines search for the fourth for 45 days, without success. It is then found at the bottom of the sea by the deep-sea submersible Alvin. During recovery operations, the cables break, and the bomb falls back into the depths. Nine days later, it is recovered again by the Alvin. The incident raises serious questions about whether nuclear weapons should continue to be carried on aircraft during peacetime, now that thousands of nuclear missiles on ICBMs and submarines perform the same task more safely.
