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The Damascus Titan missile explosion (also called the Damascus accident [1]) was a 1980 U.S. nuclear weapons incident involving a Titan II Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM). The incident occurred on September 18–19, 1980, at Missile Complex 374-7 in rural Arkansas when a U.S. Air Force LGM-25C Titan II ICBM loaded with a 9-megaton W ...
The Titan II was an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) developed by the Glenn L. Martin Company from the earlier Titan I missile. Titan II was originally designed and used as an ICBM, but was later adapted as a medium-lift space launch vehicle (these adaptations were designated Titan II GLV and Titan 23G) to carry payloads to Earth orbit ...
The nine missile silos controlled by the 374th Strategic Missile Squadron remained on alert for over 20 years during the Cold War. The 1980 Damascus Titan missile explosion is a 'Broken Arrow' incident occurred at site 374–7 on 19 September 1980 which killed one airman and injured twenty-one personnel in the immediate vicinity (see below).
In September 1980, at Titan II silo 374-7 near Damascus, Arkansas, a technician dropped an 8 lb (3.6 kg) socket that fell 70 ft (21 m), bounced off a thrust mount, and broke the skin of the missile's first stage, [11] over eight hours prior to an eventual explosion. [12]
At about 6:30 p.m., an airman conducting maintenance on a USAF Titan-II missile at Little Rock Air Force Base's Launch Complex 374-7 in Southside (Van Buren County), just north of Damascus, Arkansas, dropped a nine-pound (4 kg) socket from a socket wrench, which fell about 80 feet (24 m) before hitting and piercing the skin on the rocket's ...
Each silo housed a Titan II missile that was part of the United States defense system. The missiles were equipped with a nuclear warhead that was 600 times more powerful than the bombs dropped at ...
While performing routine maintenance in LGM-25C Titan II silo 374–7 at Damascus, Arkansas, a repairman dropped a heavy socket wrench, which rolled off of a work platform, bounced, and struck the missile, 62-0006, holing a pressurized fuel tank.
In 1980, an accidental leakage of Aerozine 50 resulted in the 1980 Damascus Titan missile explosion. The leak occurred due to puncture of the first-stage Titan fuel tank by a dropped tool. The initial explosion removed the 740-ton silo door and ejected the second stage and warhead out of the silo.