On Monday 13th January 1964, United States B-52 bomber aircraft crashed during a storm over Maryland. The plane was carrying two nuclear bombs at the time.
Three crew members were killed in the incident.
Operation Chrome Dome
At the height of the tensions during the Cold War, the United States military started Operation Chrome Dome, an operation to maintain a continuous airborne presence of nuclear-armed B-52 bombers in the air, ready to strike enemy targets if necessary.
After completing a mission to Europe and returning to Georgia via Massachusetts, one B-52, with the radio call sign ‘Buzz One Four’, encountered significant turbulence over Pennsylvania.
The 1964 Savage Mountain B-52 crash
During the turbulence, encountered at 30,000 feet at around 1:45am, a vertical stabiliser on the aircraft broke off, causing severe damage and making the plane impossible to control.
The pilot ordered the crew to bail out, leaving the aircraft to plummet towards the ground. Major Robert E. Townley, the radar bombardier, did not manage to eject and was killed when the plane crashed into Savage Mountain in Maryland.
Two other crew members, navigator Major Robert L. Payne and tail gunner T/Sgt Melvin D. Wooten ejected but died of exposure due to the harsh winter conditions on the ground.
Pilot Major Thomas W. McCormick successfully parachuted onto Maryland’s Meadow Mountain ridge and sought refuge at the Tomlinson Inn in Grantsville while notifying the United States Air Force of the crash. Co-pilot: Captain Parker C. Peedin also parachuted to safety and was rescued,
Recovery of Nuclear Bombs
The two nuclear weapons were found relatively intact amidst the wreckage of the aircraft. They were removed two days after the crash and relocated to the Cumberland Municipal Airport.
Buzz One Four
In 2017, the grandson of Pilot Major Thomas W. McCormick, filmmaker Matt McCormick released a documentary about the crash entitled Buzz One Four.
