This Day in History: 1961-01-24

Nuclear weapons accident On this day in 1961, a B-52 Stratofortress carrying two Mark 39 nuclear bombs broke up in mid-air, dropping its nuclear payload in Goldboro, NC. The bombs did not go off, but they almost did. Five of the six arming mechanisms on one of the bombs were activated, causing it to execute many of the steps needed to arm itself, such as charging the firing capacitors and, critically, deployment of a 100-foot-diameter (30 m) retard parachute. The parachute allowed that bomb to hit the ground with little damage