1980 Damascus Titan missile explosion - Alchetron, the free social encyclopedia

37 years after the Titan II Missile explosion

1980 Titan II Disaster: Fallen Socket Wrench Triggers Explosion of Armed Nuclear Missile

Terrifying History on Instagram: "On September 18, 1980, in Damascus, Arkansas, a routine maintenance task inside a Titan II nuclear missile silo nearly led to catastrophe when an eight-pound socket slipped from a technician’s wrench and fell 70 feet, puncturing the missile’s pressurized fuel tank. Highly toxic and explosive fuel rapidly filled the silo, leaving Air Force crews struggling for nine hours to control a situation made worse by zero visibility and failing sensors. The fuel eventually