A B-52 bomber carried four hydrogen 1.1 megaton bombs aboard (each about 80 times more powerful than the one dropped on Hiroshima).
One of the worst nuclear accidents in history happened on this day when an American B-52 bomber crashed into the ice-covered sea near Greenland. The cause of the accident was a fire in the pilot’s cabin, because of which the crew was forced to evacuate the aircraft. Six crewmembers safely abandoned the plane using ejection seats, but one person remained on board and was killed.
The bomber carried four 1.1 megaton hydrogen bombs on board (each about 80 times more powerful than the one dropped at Hiroshima), whose explosives detonated upon impact. That caused the radioactive contamination of a large area. The Americans and the Danes cleaned the radioactive ice near Greenland, but supposedly the second stage of one of the bombs was never recovered. It probably still lies on the ocean floor.
