Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-01-15
Secrecy Wells
Crash Of Plane
With A-Bonnb
ny ELTON Q. far
Associated Press stan writer

ny ELTON z. FAN
Associated Press star Writer
The Government cast high
secrecy today about any details
on Its brief admission that on
at least one occasion Q plane
carrying q nuclear weapon
crashed without exploding the
weapon.
The rentagon. apparently
acting after consultation with
other Government agencies. re-
fused TO say where or when the |
accident occurred or to say
whether more than one such
incident might have occurred.
However. there was growing
belief that the accident mem
toned by the Air Force Nom
day occurred within the last
year in the continental United
States and involved q B-47 me-
dun bomber.
Air Force spokesman declined
to answer question about that |
possibility and had general mo
comment" when asked about !
other accidents In which q nu-
clear weapon might have been
aboard q crashed aircraft.
Carried Outer Casing
The pilot and copilot Of oil
B-2o which crashed and
burned august 5. 1880. In |
California confirmed yesterday |
that their craft was carrying |
the outer casing Of an atomic |
bomb which did not explode. |
But they could not say whether |
1t was to that crash that the |
Air Force announcement re-
ferred.
The pilot. 1t. Col. Z. q. |
eteffes. jr.. said in Washing |
ton there was no possibility |
Of an atomic explosion and !
there was none. In that form |
It (the bomb was not capable !
Of q nuclear explosion. It was
Just q certain quantity Of
INT"
The copilot was Capt. Car
ter w. johnson. now at Els
worth Air Force Base. Rapid |
City. s. Oak. Like Col. Steffes.
he said the weapon lacked the |
vital component to explode 1t. |
Capt. johnson. now q B-52 |
bomber pilot. said the explo-
sion and fire which followed |
the plane crash stemmed from |
the fuel tanks. and added:
you can assure everybody |
that while the shape and |
weight Of atomic bombs may |
be carried. there Is no danger |
Of Q nuclear explosion because |
that hush-hush part Is always |
missing on training flights"
Bare Details Revealed
The earlier Air Force an
nouncement had said only that |
Q plane carrying an atomic !
weapon had crashed and that |
the plane was destroyed byi
IRE; no nuclear explosion was
possible. and. Of course. none |
happened. i" II said no further |
details would be given for -se-
curity reasons"
The secrecy was so tight that |
Il was not clear how much Of |
the silence was predicated onI
military security and how much |
on concern lest details might |
alarm residents over whose |
heads Air Force bombers. pre-
sumably carrying nuclear weap-
cns. fly frequently.
Early last year. In announc-
ing that nuclear warheads were
starting to 90 into the hands
Of defense forces in the United
States using the Nike-Hercules
and Talos anti-aircraft missiles
and the Genie air-to-air rocket,
the department took pains to
head on public alarm. II said
that elaborate precautions
have been taken in the design |
and handling Of these air de-
Tense weapons to minimize |
harmful effects resulting from /
accidents either on the ground |
or in the air"
Policy Question Posed
Although the Air Forcel
silence on plane crashes was
attributed to security reasons,
there were suggestions In other
quarters today that the ques-
ton Of policy also had been
posed.
When . problem involves
both security and policy. the
question Is usually referred to
the Governments Operations
Co-ordinating Board. Mem
bership Of this agency includes
ofiicials from the White House,
State Department. Defense De-
partment. Atomic Energy Com
mission. the Central Intelli-
gence Agency and the United
States Information Service.
In combatant aircraft. nu-
clear weapons are carried In
breakdown form, with the
final triggering which would
permit defamation Of the wea-