Nuclear Missile Malfunction: Into the Silo…

Real Survival Stories

In September 1980, a fuel leak at a Titan II missile silo near Damascus, Arkansas, brought the United States to the brink of nuclear disaste

Key takeaways

• A minor mistake—dropping a socket wrench—triggered a chain of events that nearly caused a nuclear detonation on U.S. soil.

Main topics

• Cold War nuclear tensions
• Military safety protocols and human error

Notable quotes

"If that fuel ignites and the resulting explosion causes the W-53 warhead inside the missile to detonate, it would trigger the deadliest nuclear catastrophe ever to occur on U.S. soil."

Conclusion

The episode underscores how close the U.S. came to a catastrophic nuclear accident due

Transcript preview

Speaker 1 (0:00) It's September the 18th, 1980, around 6 p.m. In the heart of rural Arkansas, right in the middle of the United States, lies the small, sleepy town of Damascus. With a population of just a few hundred, this is a blink-and-you-miss-it sort of place. Little more than a gas station, a post office, and a farming supply store. Tonight, a Thursday, Damascus is characteristically quiet. Speaker 1 (0:28) Walking down Main Street, it's easy to forget that the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union is still simmering, now well into its third decade. For many Americans, the red menace of communist Russia remains a real and present threat. But in a peaceful community like Damascus, it's hard to imagine anything disturbing the status quo or shattering the impregnable sense of safety. Speaker 1 (0:54) Yet, meanwhile, just three miles out of town, a slender gravel access road cuts through the woods and cattle pastures until it arrives at an unassuming chain-link fence. Beneath coils of razor wire, a white placard hangs at eye level, its lettering in bold capitals. U.S. Air Force Installation, Restricted Area, Authorized Personnel Only. Speaker 1 (1:21) Beyond the fence, there isn't much to see at first glance. A ten-acre plot of closely mown grass and compacted dirt, strewn with antennas, ventilation shafts, and encircled by tall floodlights. But below the ground, directly beneath the concrete slab at the center of the enclosure, a cavernous silo plunges 150 feet into the earth. Speaker 1 (1:44) Sheathed within it is the Titan II Intercontinental Ballistic Missile, the most powerful nuclear projectile ever built by the United States. Right now, two Air Force technicians are making their way underground, passing through an intricate series of gates and secure metal access doors, descending deeper and deeper into the silo. 21-year-old Dave Powell and 19-year-old Jeff Plum have been dispatched here to carry out some routine maintenance work on the missile. Both men are tired after a long shift, eager to finish the job. But just when they reach the main chamber of the silo, Airman Powell realizes something. He's forgotten to bring down the torque wrench, one of the tools they need to carry out the work. Speaker 4 (2:31) So it's like 11 hours in. You're 11 hours in, you're tired. Now we got to run back up topside and get this and run back down. He said, just to get this job done, I'm just going to use the socket and the ratchet that's here. Speaker 1 (2:46) They'll just have to make do with what they've got, a simple ratchet wrench with a socket attachment. It'll make the job fiddlier, but right now that's more appealing than doing the long trek back up to ground level. The two men get to work, loosening a fuel cap on the side of the 100-foot missile. Airman Plum places the socket inside the wrench and starts cranking the tool around the cap. So far, so routine. But just when the young technician goes to retract the wrench, the socket slips off the end. Powell throws out a hand to catch it, but it's too late. The three-inch metal cylinder tumbles out of reach, falling through the gap between the work platform and the missile. Speaker 4 (3:32) Now these two guys are watching this thing fall, 66 feet, gaining speed, and they're praying that it falls straight down into what they call the W. Speaker 1 (3:44) The W. Twin concrete funnels situated below the missile's thrusters. The best and likeliest scenario. is that the socket falls harmlessly into this structure, avoiding the missile entirely. Instead, a stroke of bad luck, the socket hits the frame of a metal thrust mount and ricochets. Speaker 4 (4:07) And when it bounces, it could bounce in a hundred different directions, away from it, to the side of it. But on the single time it falls, it hits that thrust mount, bounces straight in towards the missile, and punctures a hole in this missile. Speaker 1 (4:25) Powell and Plum stare in dumbstruck horror as a jet of pressurized fuel starts spraying violently from the side of the missile. As soon as it makes contact with the air, the fuel turns to vapor, and very quickly the silo starts to fill with a toxic chemical mist. The two technicians can only watch, helpless, as the missile is slowly enveloped in a thick cloud of highly volatile, highly flammable, vaporized rocket fuel. Speaker 1 (4:53) Then they turn to each other, their faces stricken, behind their helmets' clear visors. Speaker 1 (4:59) If that fuel ignites and the resulting explosion causes the W-53 warhead inside the missile to detonate, it would trigger the deadliest nuclear catastrophe ever to occur on U.S. soil. Speaker 4 (5:11) The small side of that W-53 had the power of Hiroshima, but the black part on the back end made it 600 times as powerful, or three times more powerful than every bomb dropped in World War II. Speaker 1 (5:35) Ever wondered what you would do when disaster strikes? If your life depended on your next decision, could you make the right choice? Welcome to Real Survival Stories. These are the astonishing tales of ordinary people thrown into extraordinary situations. People suddenly forced to fight for their lives. In this episode, we meet Airman Greg Devlin, a 21-year-old fuel technician in the U.S. military. Speaker 1 (6:02) Stationed at Little Rock Air Force Base, it's the job of Greg and his fellow fuel techs to sort out any fuel-related issues on board the military fleet of Titan II missiles, stored in silos throughout central Arkansas. On September 18, 1980, Greg receives an emergency call from his commanding officer, informing him of a potentially catastrophic fuel leak at one of the missile sites just outside the town of Damascus. Speaker 4 (6:28) He said, we need volunteers for this mission out there. And he said, it's bad. It's real bad. We don't even know what's going to happen. That's how bad this is. It's never happened before in history. You know, this is uncharted territory here. Speaker 1 (6:46) As word of the accident and its possible implications spread through the upper echelons of the military, Greg and his colleagues will head to the silo to try to contain the leak. The stakes could not be higher. If the fuel spilling out of the missile ignites, it could conceivably cause the warhead inside the missile's nose cone to detonate, triggering a massive nuclear explosion right in the very heart of the USA. Speaker 4 (7:11) The vapor panel has the main gauge in the center is a Lira, L-I-R-A, Lira gauge. This needle was pegged all the way, all the way to the end of the gauge. I mean, that's explosion level. The missile will explode. Speaker 1 (7:26) I'm John Hopkins. From the Noisa Podcast Network, this is Real Survival Stories. It's around 8 p.m. on Thursday, September the 18th, 1980. Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas. Inside a briefing room, a group of young Air Force technicians sits in fraught silence as their commanding officer, Tech Sergeant Mike Hansen, delivers a grave pronouncement. There has been a serious fuel leak at one of the Titan II missile sites, and he needs volunteers to go and assess the situation in order to determine the next best course of action. Among those anxiously listening is 21-year-old airman Greg Devlin. Speaker 4 (8:30) He finished the sentence with, if you don't want to go, you don't have to. And my thought, and honestly, everyone that was there, and I can't speak for everybody, but I'm just telling you, all the guys that went out that night said, you know, who else is going to do it? You need fuel tax. Of course we're going to go. I mean, it's bad, but, you know, of course we're going. Speaker 1 (8:54) Following the briefing, Greg and his fellow fuel techs load up a couple of pickup trucks with the gear they'll need. The mood among the group is subdued, but stoic, businesslike. They have a job to do, and there is no one in the military more qualified than they are to get it done. But just as Greg is climbing into the back of one of the vehicles, his colleague, a 22-year-old fellow fuel tech named Dave Livingston, confides his true feelings. Speaker 4 (9:21) We were real close to leaving and Dave Livingston, he's in the backseat there with the driver's side backseat. The door's open and he's really getting ready to scoot over so I could get in next to him. He said, man, I have a bad vibe. He said, somebody's going to die out here tonight. Speaker 2 (9:49) I'm Julie Andrews, and it is my great pleasure to return to Jane Austen Stories. This time, I'll be reading another beloved classic, Emma. Join me as we step into the village of Highbury, home to the handsome and clever Emma Woodhouse. But as new visitors arrive and quiet mysteries unfold, what will our strong-willed heroine learn? both of the secrets of others and of her own heart's desires. Listen to Jane Austen Stories now wherever you get your podcasts. Speaker 1 (10:32) This September on the Noiser Podcast Network. On Jane Austen Stories, Dame Julie Andrews continues to bring Austen's beloved classic, Emma, to life. On Short History Of, we're in medieval England for the fascinating story of the Peasants' Revolt, and 25 years on from 9-11, we're on the ground in New York City. On Real Survival Stories, we're on a luscious winery in Northwest America, and venturing into a missile silo in the dead of night as the U.S. is threatened with nuclear disaster. And in Sherlock Holmes short stories, get two episodes each week as Hugh Bonneville explores Conan Doyle's great novel, A Study in Scarlet. Get all of these shows and more early and ad-free on Noisa Plus. Temperamentally, Greg Devlin is suited to life in the Air Force. He is tough, scrappy, and never shies away from a fight, even when the odds are stacked against him. Speaker 4 (11:30) I come from a family of fighters. My father and uncles were Golden Gloves fighters and champions. My grandfather was pro. They had 93 flyweight fights from 31 to 39. And so from a young age, I was always taught, don't take any crap off anybody. You know, don't start any fights ever. Just finish them if they start them with you. Speaker 1 (11:50) Greg grew up in small town Ohio. His father was an ex-Marine who owned a gas station. And Greg used to work the pumps for pocket money. Bright and industrious, he did well in school, but ultimately decided to join the Air Force instead of going to college. He completed basic training in Texas, after which he was required to choose between one of three job offers. Speaker 4 (12:11) I have no memory of what the first two offers were because when I got to the third offer, it said Titan II nuclear missile fuel systems specialist. And I'm 17 and I want to do something important in the world. And I said, wow, Speaker 1 (12:32) Titan