Training with ordinance ?

[Hacker15e]

The only real rule is don't tell anybody until someone files a FOIA 50 years later...
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/20/usaf-atomic-bomb-north-carolina-1961

This has to be taken in the context of what was happening in the world at that time. The USAF had aircraft loaded with live nuclear weapons airborne at ALL TIMES so they could strike the Soviet Union. The way they did this was to have live nuclear weapons with the ability to remove the firing system -- the bombers would fly with the nukes in the bomb bay but without the firing set in there. If the codes were passed from the National Command Authority, they'd go in there and arm the weapons, then storm off to nuke the Reds.

This meant that every time there was some kind of accident with a bomber during that time, there was technically a "live nuclear weapon" on board.

 

[jtrain609]

This has to be taken in the context of what was happening in the world at that time. The USAF had aircraft loaded with live nuclear weapons airborne at ALL TIMES so they could strike the Soviet Union. The way they did this was to have live nuclear weapons with the ability to remove the firing system -- the bombers would fly with the nukes in the bomb bay but without the firing set in there. If the codes were passed from the National Command Authority, they'd go in there and arm the weapons, then storm off to nuke the Reds.

This meant that every time there was some kind of accident with a bomber during that time, there was technically a "live nuclear weapon" on board.

Except it seems like the firing system malfunctioned on one if the bombs and it completed a handful of the multiple steps necessary to go boom.