For something that has the capacity to end life as we know it, nuclear weapons have a disturbing tendency to get misplaced, dropped, or casually tossed aside. You’d think a multi-ton bomb capable of leveling cities would generate a certain expectation of “Handle With Care,” but you’d be wrong. In the world of military mishaps, there’s a term for this: Broken Arrow.

What Is a Broken Arrow?

No, this isn’t a reference to the 1996 John Travolta movie (which, frankly, should have been classified as its own kind of disaster). In military jargon, “Broken Arrow” refers to an accident involving nuclear weapons that does not result in the threat of nuclear war. Basically, it’s when a nuke goes where it shouldn’t, does what it shouldn’t, or—somehow—just up and disappears. Yes, that happens.

Since 1950, 32 officially recognized Broken Arrow incidents have occurred, with at least six nuclear weapons still missing—somewhere out there, presumably enjoying a quiet retirement on the ocean floor or buried under decades of classified paperwork.

But wait, there’s more! Thanks to a declassified U.S. government report, we have even more details on some of these incidents. It records no fewer than 79 misadventures — not all of them technically rise to the level of being classified as Broken Arrows, but are noteworthy nonetheless. And what a collection of oops moments they are. We classify them, broadly, as follows:

Category	Number of Incidents
Aircraft Crashes with Nuclear Weapons	10
Weapon Drops During Handling	14
Accidental Weapon Releases from Aircraft	6
Electrical and Arming Failures	8
Fires and Explosions	7
Weapons Lost at Sea	3
Transportation Accidents	10
Missile Mishaps	6
Saltwater Contamination	3
Miscellaneous Handling Errors	12
Total	79

A Guided Tour of Nuclear Mishaps

While all Broken Arrows involve nuclear weapons, they tend to happen in different ways. So, for your reading pleasure, we’ve categorized them based on how exactly things went sideways.

1. Aircraft Crashes with Nuclear Weapons (10 Incidents)

If you think a regular plane crash is bad, imagine one carrying a nuclear payload. Over the years, there have been multiple crashes involving live nuclear bombs, some of which resulted in partial detonation of conventional explosives, radioactive contamination, or weapons being jettisoned into bodies of water.

Most infamous example: 1961 Goldsboro, North Carolina—A B-52 broke apart midair, dropping two nuclear bombs. One nearly detonated, with three of its four safety mechanisms failing. The last one held, sparing North Carolina a rebrand as “Ground Zero, USA.”

2. Accidental Weapon Drops During Handling (14 Incidents)

Turns out, hoisting a nuclear bomb onto an aircraft isn’t as foolproof as one might hope. Multiple incidents involve bombs simply falling due to mechanical failure or human error.

Example: January 24, 1961 – Goldsboro, North Carolina

A B-52 broke apart in midair, dropping two bombs. One parachute deployed, but the other bomb broke apart on impact. A portion remains unrecovered.

3. Accidental Weapon Releases from Aircraft (6 Incidents)

You’d think keeping nukes inside planes would be priority #1, but mistakes happen. Several times, bombs have been mistakenly released mid-flight or during pre-flight preparations.

Example: May 22, 1957, Albuquerque, New Mexico — A mechanic accidentally pulled the wrong lever, sending a hydrogen bomb tumbling to the ground. The high-explosive trigger went off, but the nuclear core did not. It did, however, spread radioactive material that had to be cleaned up. Additionally, an unlucky cow happened to be standing directly under the falling nuke and did not survive the encounter. Read more details about this terrifying incident in this article.

4. Electrical and Arming Failures (8 Incidents)

Imagine flipping the wrong switch and arming a nuclear bomb. A number of incidents involved malfunctions that accidentally activated bomb components, sometimes even firing detonators.

Example: 1966, Palomares, Spain—A mid-air collision between a B-52 and a refueling tanker scattered four hydrogen bombs. One was recovered intact, but two exploded on impact, scattering plutonium dust across the Spanish countryside.

5. Fires and Explosions (7 Incidents)

Nuclear weapons and fire—two things that should never mix. Some Broken Arrows have involved crashes, aircraft carrier fires, or missile silo infernos that have led to nuclear weapons being exposed to extreme heat.

Example: 1968, Thule Air Base, Greenland—A B-52 caught fire and crashed. The fire caused a nuclear weapon to partially detonate, scattering radioactive debris across the Arctic ice. An investigation later determined the cause of the fire was a faulty seat cushion. You can read more about this incident in this article.

6. Weapons Lost at Sea (3 Incidents)

You know that moment of panic when you drop your phone into the ocean? Now imagine that, but with nuclear bombs.

Example: 1958, Tybee Island, Georgia—A B-47 bomber dropped a nuclear bomb into the Atlantic after a mid-air collision. The bomb has never been recovered and is presumably still hanging out underwater somewhere off the Georgia coast.

7. Transportation Accidents (10 Incidents)

Trucks, trains, and cranes carrying nuclear weapons have also had their share of mishaps—because, apparently, even nukes are not immune to bad driving.

Example: 1959, Kentucky—A transport truck carrying nuclear warheads overturned, sending warheads tumbling onto the highway. Thankfully, no explosions followed, but the cleanup effort was likely very tense.

8. Missile Mishaps (6 Incidents)

Missiles are tricky things, especially when they accidentally launch, misfire, or explode.

Example: Mid-1960s, Pacific Ocean—A chase aircraft accidentally detonated a nuclear missile prematurely, setting off a shockwave in the open sea.

9. Saltwater Exposure and Contamination (3 Incidents)

Nukes and water don’t mix well. Saltwater corrosion can disable safety mechanisms, making recovery even riskier.

Example: An aircraft carrier incident (classified details sparse)—Seawater flooded a weapons storage bay, soaking nuclear warheads and leading to a classified but highly panicked cleanup effort.

10. Unknown or Miscellaneous Handling Errors (12 Incidents)

When all else fails, you can always count on good old-fashioned human error.

Example: A technician in the 1950s accidentally armed a nuke during routine maintenance. His response? Yanking the wires out and hoping for the best.

But Wait…There’s (Hundreds) More

As if all of this weren’t enough, if you read through the declassified document from the Defense Atomic Support Agency, you’ll see that it describes hundreds of Broken Arrow and near-Broken Arrow incidents, including events that range from the fairly minor — the unexplained activation of a sprinkler system in an aircraft carrier’s weapons storage compartment (“Accidents and Incidents During the Period 1 December 1982 through 28 February 1963, Incident #4”) — to the significantly more serious — a weapon burning for approximately four hours with two low order detonations (“Accidents and Incidents During the Period 1 July 1957 through 31 March 1967, Incident #23”).

In other words, whether an incident rises to a true Broken Arrow definition or not, there are literally hundreds of mishaps that can serve to keep your mind occupied on those feverish, sleepless nights.

So… How Are We Still Here?

Despite decades of close calls, these incidents led to major improvements in nuclear safety protocols. Fail-safes, arming mechanisms, and handling procedures were refined to prevent further mishaps. While the world has come dangerously close to unintentional nuclear disaster more times than we’d like to admit, so far, the safeguards have held.

For now, the best we can do is hope that future nuclear weapons remain strictly accounted for, securely stored, and—above all—not misplaced like a rogue sock in the laundry of global security.

Having said that, if you need any further fuel for nightmares, you might want to consider reading about:

• The time Jimmy Carter accidentally sent the nuclear launch codes to the dry cleaner.
• The fact that the nuclear launch computers used 8.5-inch floppy disks for fifty years.
• We once accidentally launched a missile deep into Mexico.
• The launch codes to unleash World War III used to be “00000000”.
• How one Soviet officer in 1962 stopped World War III.

So, sleep tight, folks! And if you happen to be scuba diving off the coast of Georgia and find something that looks suspiciously like a bomb… maybe just leave it there.

Read more interesting chapters from the Nuclear Age at Atomic Archive.

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