Hide Article Text (OCR)
Exhaust DeflectorNuclear Warhead NT unnel^ Second Stagev V''*iC BoosterDepth^ 155 FeetGas DuctsMissile PlatformFlame DeflectorDAMASCUS, Ark lt;AP - An Air Force sergeant has died of iniuries from the thunderousexplosion at an underground missile silo, hut authorities maintain there were no radiDiagram shows cutaway view of a 155-foot deep underground Titan II missile silo, which exploded Friday near Damascus.ation leaks and permitted some 1,400 evacuees to return to theirhomesPentagon and Air Force officials have refused to say what happened to the warhead of the Titan II missile - largest in America s missile fleet - after the Friday morning blast Neither would confirm reports by NBC and ABC News that the warhead was blown out of the silo in the blastThe Omaha World Hearld quoted sources who said the 103 foot missile was destroyed and that some damage was done to the warhead, but there were no radiation leaks Strategic Air Command officials were continuing an investigation of the accident and the extent of the damage today Both stages of the 165-ton missile were heavily damaged theAir Force said.Bu* Air Force Secretary Hans Mark stressed, There is absolutely no evidence of any radioactive material in the area I can tell you that with absolute assurance ”The blast at about 3am nearthis central Arkansas community shattered the silo’s 750-ton steel and-concrete lid, spewing table-size chunks of twisted steel and concrete into the air and injuring a total of 22airmen two seriously. A 60-manAir Force emergency response team was above ground near the silo at the tune One injured man, Sgt David Livingston, 21, of Heath, Ohio, died Friday after he “breathed a toxic solution of some kind -that was the fatal blow,” according to hospital spokesman John Pounders at Baptist Medical Center in Little RockIt was the third fatal accident at a Titan II silo In 1965. 53 civilian workmen were killed in a silo near Searcy, Ark., when a welder's torch touched a line carrying a combustible fluid In1978, two airmen were killed when a leak led to the escape of a clout! of toxic gas near Rock, Kan.A leak at the silo near Damascus occurred in January 1978, but the missile itself did not leak then, the Air Force said The events leading to the blast began Thursday when a workman dropped a 3 pound wrench socket that punctured a fuel tank in the first stage of the missile, authorities said When vapor from leaking fuel was spotted a four-man launch crew began releasing 100.000 gallons of water stored in a tank, said SAC spokesman Capt Tom Mahr The crew then left the building, and residents from surrounding towns as far as 10 miles away were ev acuated Just after emergency team members left the silo, a blast seen 20 miles away left a smok mg crater 250 feet wide, five times the normal size of the mouth of silo The pastureland around the comjtound was lit tered with concrete and steel debris“There was a giant flame that went up about a couple of hundred feet As it started to arc back down, the ground started rumbling There were two extremely loud explosions, ami i Continued on Page 2
Newspaper Details
Fayetteville Northwest Arkansas Times
Fayetteville, Arkansas, US
Sat, Sep 20, 1980
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Arkansas S.
AR, USA 14 Feb 2020
Other Publications Near Fayetteville, Arkansas
Fayetteville Democrat
Fayetteville Daily
Fayetteville Northwest Arkansas Times
Northwest Arkansas Times
Fayetteville Daily Democrat
