12. A nuclear bomb exploded in a crash at an Air Force Base in Texas
On November 4, 1958, for unknown reasons, a USAF B-47 bomber caught fire soon after take-off and from an altitude of 1,500 feet crashed towards Dyess Air Force Base, Texas. On board the B-47 bomber was a single nuclear weapon containing both high explosives and radioactive materials. Three of the aircraft’s crew successfully ejected and landed unharmed at Dyess Air Base, however one airman did not and died in the crash; it is believed he deliberately remained in an attempt to steer the plane away from greater dangers and crash the plane as safely as possible.
Upon crashing the weapon exploded, with no casualties recorded except the remaining airman, and the resulting detonation of the nuclear device caused a crater 35 feet in diameter and six feet deep. No nuclear reaction was caused by the crash or explosion and all nuclear materials were successfully recovered from the crash site, with no lasting radioactivity affecting the area.