Reunion 50 years after bomber crash with nukes

PIKEVILLE, NC (AP) — Eyewitnesses, firefighters and a survivor of a 1961 crash in Wayne County involving a plane equipped with nuclear weapons are gathering to remember the event.

The News-Argus of Goldsboro reports that a reunion is scheduled for Tuesday in Pikeville for people involved at the site of a B-52 crash 50 years ago.

At the time, the plane was carrying two nuclear weapons, each one containing more than 200 times the power of the bombs that fell on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Military officials have since said the weapons came close to detonating during the crash.

One of the pilots of the B-52 is scheduled to attend, along with the Air Force officer who led efforts to find and deactivate the bombs.

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