1 That Time We Bombed Spain
2 A ROUTINE REFUELING OPERATION WENT HORRIBLY WRONG WHEN A B-52 CRASHED OVER A SMALL SPANISH FISHING VILLAGE, DROPPING FOUR NUCLEAR WEAPONS AND CONTAMINATING OVER A THOUSAND TONS OF EARTH.
On January 17, 1966, a B-52 carrying four nuclear weapons collided with a tanker during a routine midair refueling operation over Palomares, Spain, causing both planes to crash. The conventional explosives in two of the bombs detonated on impact. While the nuclear warheads were not triggered, the explosions dispersed plutonium—which is both radioactive and toxic—throughout the area.
Another bomb landed in a riverbed, but did not detonate and was recovered.
The fourth bomb landed in the Mediterranean, taking nearly three months and the most expensive salvage operation in US history to locate and recover. A local fisherman involved in the search subsequently tried to claim salvage rights to the bomb, but settled with the Air Force out of court.
Although the US removed more than 1,400 tons of contaminated soil and vegetation from the crash site, tests continue to show lingering contamination. In October 2015, Secretary of State John Kerry signed an agreement with Spain to further restore the site.
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