Air Force fires commander in nuke error

WASHINGTON — The Air Force fired a commander after a B-52 bomber was mistakenly armed with six nuclear warheads and flown for more than three hours across several states last week, Pentagon officials said Wednesday.

It was originally reported that five nuclear warheads were transported, but officers who revealed the incident to the Military Times newspaper group, which first reported it, have since updated the number to six.

The mistake was so serious that President Bush and Defense Secretary Robert Gates were quickly informed, and Gates has asked for daily briefings on the Air Force investigation that was ordered, said Defense Department press secretary Geoff Morrell.

He said Gates was assured that "at no time was the public in danger."

Rep. Ike Skelton, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, called the mishandling of the weapons "deeply disturbing." Rep. Edward Markey, a senior member of the Homeland Security Committee, said it was "absolutely inexcusable."

"Nothing like this has ever been reported before and we have been assured for decades that it was impossible," said Markey, D-Mass., co-chair of the House task force on nonproliferation.

The plane was carrying advanced cruise missiles, which are to be decommissioned, from Minot Air Force Base, N.D., to Barksdale Air Force Base, La., on Aug. 30, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

According to the officials, the weapons are designed with multiple safety features that ensure the warheads don't accidentally detonate.

Arming the weapons requires a number of stringent protocols and authentication codes that must be followed for detonation. And they are designed to withstand a significant impact, including an aircraft crash.

The Air Combat Command has ordered a commandwide stand down Sept. 14 to review procedures, officials said.

The Defense Department uses a computerized tracking program to keep tabs on each one of its nuclear warheads, said Hans Kristensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists.

For the six warheads to make it onto the B-52, each one would have had to be signed out of its storage bunker and transported to the bomber. Diligent safety protocols would have to have been ignored to load the warheads onto the plane, he said.

"I just can't imagine how all of this happened," said Philip Coyle, a senior adviser on nuclear weapons at the Center for Defense Information. "The procedures are so rigid; this is the last thing that's supposed to happen."

In addition to the munitions squadron commander who was relieved of his duties, crews involved with the mistaken load — including ground-crew workers — have been temporarily decertified for handling munitions, one official said.

Material from the Military Times is included in this report.